~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forfeit the game
Before somebody else
Takes you out of the frame
Put your name to shame
Cover up your face
You can't win the race
The pace is too fast
It just won't last...
Vince hanged up the phone of his office agitated and breathing heavily. He flopped down on his leather chair before wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead throughout the conversation. They were after him… Just for a business gone wrong, those damn gangsters that were involved in the Mafia wanted him dead and his company with him. How the hell could this happen?! Last time he had seen them… He had cleared that bet he had done with them when he had gotten drunk that one time… Why couldn't they just stay in the past!? Vince got up and started pacing around in his office. What would he tell his wrestlers…? What would do to get out of this hole he had gotten into?!
As he paced, Kurt Angle walked inside the office. "Hey, Vince, how about…" He stopped when he saw Vince how he was. He quickly went over and helped Vince to sit down. "Vince? Vince, what's wrong? You look like you're about to pass out at any second…"
"No." Vince answered, shaking his head. "I'm fine. It's just… It's just been a long day." He got up again and shuffled through some papers before going out of the office in a daze, still unsure on what he was going to do.
*~*~*~*~
"We warned him, boss." A small smirk drew itself across his face. "Apparently he forgot that we existed."
Ralph, the head of the clan, turned around on his desk chair smirking. "Oh? Well, he ain't that lucky. Besides, how could we forget about his little…'empire', right boys?"
The 'boys' were a bunch of tall men, well built and with tattoos imprinted along their arms. If any of them would step out in the middle of the night, just a simple glance would scare anyone that would come across their path. They wore all black; mainly leather. The head of the pack, Ralph, was a proud man who was never wrong and didn't like his 'business partners' to forget about him. How could they, after all? Vince was one of the most memorable 'business partner' he had had, for the mere reason that Vince had paid a wealthy amount of money for some bet they had done and to keep the secret of that bet. They had done their best to keep away, yet the money that Vince was constantly making day in and day out with that company of his was too tempting to keep away from and now he just wanted part of it. Perhaps just a half of it…? Nah. Perhaps the whole thing.
"So?" Ralph questioned one of his boys; the one that had called Vince. "What did he say? Will he give us the money how I said?"
"No, boss… He wont do anything and he said that if we keep this going, he's gonna call the cops on us. He said we did the mistake of crossing his path and he did his by giving us that money and he won't do that mistake again."
Ralph glared at his assistant, slamming his fist on the desk. "What?! Apparently he doesn't understand that he can go to the bottom with all this and drag his company with him!" He got up, furious. Yet, after a second, he smirked. "But we'll see who made this mistake now… And we'll see just how badly he'll pay for it…" He turned towards his assistant, who was smirking as well, knowing exactly what he meant. The WWF would go crashing down and Vince would be right behind it… *That* would be his prize for his mistake… Ralph nodded, indicating to carry out the plans as soon as possible and get the damn point across.
~*~*~*~*~
Rock was wrestling, just like every other night. His opponent? Hell, to him it didn't matter. After all, it didn't get him near the title he wanted to get. It was just another dumb match he had been 'appointed' to by Vince. The same person that took pride in making his life a living hell for being himself…
Everything was going smoothly until, all of a sudden, the lights of the arena flickered on and off. Both wrestlers and the referee stopped, frowning in confusion, yet they got back in the match so the audience wouldn't get distracted. Before they could do that, however, everything went pitch black and some gun shots were heard. Loud and clear. At first there was only silence around, the fans too shocked to do anything, until doors leading outside opened and people rushed out, not knowing what was going on. There was a stampede towards the door as panic set in the fans and the lights were still out. After what seemed like forever, the lights came back on; only to find Rock and the other wrestler still in the ring, both obviously wounded and in a puddle of their own blood.
~*~*~*~*~*
Vince looked pale, almost about to faint, just how Kurt had pointed out some days ago. As the thoughts of that day entered his head once more, he wished he could go back in time and change his desicion. Maybe not the one about not paying them... Hell, he didn't know. He wanted to go back to that day when he had gambled and lost. That day that he had given money to those bastards...
Suddenly a voice brought him back to reality."Mr. McMahon? Ready?"
Vince nodded, fixing his tie and walking out to confront the cameras and reporters that wanted to talk to him about the incident. He had to inform how...
"As you all know, the incident in our show this week affected the fans and my wrestlers in the worst way possible. You all know that one of the wrestlers in the ring died of a gunshot..."
"What about The Rock? What is his condition?"
Vince looked at the reporter before answering. "The Rock was seriously wounded on his back. Doctors hope that he'll make a full recovery but are not sure how or if this will affect him and his career. Our prayers are with him. Right now he's in the hospital; under intense care. Get well, Rock."
~*~*~*~
Rock was laying on his stomach on a hospital bed. The painkiller they had injected in him was making him somewhat dizzy and groggy, so he could barely see the T.V., yet his sense of hearing wasn't failing him as he listened to Vince's speech. When Vince was done, he groaned and shut his eyes. The lying bastard... This was all his fault anyway. Vince had come the night before to appologize, saying how he shouldn't have gotten hurt like that. Vince had thought he was still unconscious, yet he had listened to everything.
Now, he couldn't even move without hurting and he wasn't even sure he would ever wrestle again. Let alone walk... Forcing himself, he started to try to lift himself up, using his arms for support on the mattress, but he quickly changed his mind as he felt as if the pain was going to kill him right there and then. A nurse came in and reminded him how he had to lay down still so he could heal faster, but he wasn't paying attention. What got his attention was a deeper voice that suddenly was heard from the door.
"Ah, don't try talking to him. He's as stubborn as how his name describes him... I'll take care of this. If not, I'll kick his ass."
The nurse, who was a wrestling fan as well, smiled at him and nodded as she left. Rock closed his eyes and sighed loudly. "What the hell do you want, Triple H? Came to laugh at me and see how "The Rock" was finally put away?"
Triple H pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat right infront of him. "Naw. I'm not THAT cruel..." Triple H hesitated and patted his shoulder gently. "How are you feeling, man?"
Rock looked up in shock as he heard those words. He tried to see if he was serious or just messing with him again, but he saw that he was honest. He hesitated before looking away. "Like shit...? Especially since I shouldn't be here...?"
"Yeah, we all know Vince should be here. It's all around the locker room... Everyone knows that he has some...'businesses'... You shouldn't be here.... That man shouldn't be dead..."
Rock winced at the thought and at the sudden blinding pain; closed his eyes. "You're telling me..."
Triple H saw how tired he was and he got up. "Well...I'll let you rest now. I'll...talk to you later, alright? Take care."
Rock didn't open his eyes, he just nodded slightly as best as he could. "Alright. Thanks." And with that, he slowly started to fall asleep.
Triple H made his way towards the door, but stayed there a long time after Rock had fallen asleep, almost glaring. But...not at him. He was glaring at the fact that Vince was causing problems; now bigger than before... "We'll make this right, man. We just have to before he gets any more of us..."