Dark Reflections

Chapter 3

Things Fall Apart

It took Steve several more minutes to calm Paul down, although the man had every right to be panicking. Once Pat was checked out by the medical trainer, the trio headed over to Vince McMahon in the cafeteria. He was sitting at a table with his son Shane waiting impatiently for D-Generation X to arrive. Once he saw them enter the cafeteria, however, he got a sick feeling in his stomach that something bad had happened.

"Where's Shawn?" Vince asked.

"Vince... I swear you would never believe what happened..." Paul began.

Shane cut him off. "Hey! My dad asked you where Shawn was! You should know by now that you don't give him a long explanation. You give him a direct answer," Shane paused for a moment and laughed.

He looked at Paul, who was very serious at the time and didn't think it was funny.

"I'm sorry. I was only joking. Seriously, though. Where is our blonde-haired green-eyed friend?" Shane asked.

Pat cleared his throat, making both the McMahon men look at him. "Mr. McMahon, some crazy ass bastard came backstage and kidnapped Michaels."

The McMahon men blinked several times before looking at each other and bursting out laughing.

"Oh, come on! There has to be a better excuse then that! I mean, if he's sick or something just say he had too many burritos from Taco Bell... Don't say he was kidnapped!" Shane shouted and kept laughing.

"He's serious," Paul stated, making the two stop laughing.

"When I came from talking to dad the D-X locker room was... Well... Locked. I kicked the door down and found Pat unconscious. Steve found a fake police shield. The guy must've passed himself off for a police officer to the security guards and to Shawn... Pat... Tell him what you told me and Steve." Paul stated.

"I was standing out by the parking lot. A guy came around the bend from the D-X part of the hallway. He had Shawn and was helping him walk. Vince, it looked like... I don't know... It looked like Michaels was hit by 5 cars rapid fire. He was battered and bruised. I don't know where exactly he was bleeding from, but there was blood all over him. He was even coughing it up. I stopped the guy and asked him what had happened. He said that Shawn fell down the stairs and he was asked to transport him to a hospital. When I asked for some ID, the guy freaked out and hit me with a pipe. If he did that to me, God only knows what he did to Shawn." Pat told Vince McMahon, who fell silent with rage.

Shane looked over at his father.

"What are we gonna do, dad? Is there a security camera in the D-X locker room?" Shane asked.

Paul looked at Pat, then back at Shane.

"I think so. But what good is that gonna do? We're only going to be able to see what he did to Shawn. It doesn't really mean we'll be able to see his face or anything." Paul replied.

"Well, we have the fake badge he had. We can give it to the cops and they can scan it for fingerprints or something. I'm the only one that touched it, so I don't think it'll be too much of a problem." Steve stated.

"I'll go grab some of the event cops and get them over here." Pat announced and walked away.

Vince was enraged.

"What the hell are we gonna do now?" He shouted.

"Dad, calm down! Shawn wouldn't want you to go crazy over this. The show must go on, right? Sadly, we're gonna have to do this show without Shawn... Even though we had a good prank in mind... Let's just re-script it really quick. It could be something dumb like you and me joining forces and issuing a warning to whoever kidnapped Shawn..." Paul stopped talking when he saw the joy in Vince's eyes.

Had he just given him an idea?

"That's a great idea, Paul! If we have footage of what happened, you can pull it up on the Tron and blame me, but then I'll come out and deny it. Then we agree that the war is postponed until Shawn is brought back and say that we have unlimited resources, which is true this time. You have the faces and we have the heels." Vince stated with a large smile on his face.

"Show re-scripted." Shane announced.

Vince hadn't noticed that Shane was conversing with his sister about the show, arguing back and forth over the change of plans so soon to the show's start time.


10 Minutes Later...

Paul re-located to the D-X locker room to think about what could've happened. All he was thinking about was how he should've been there to protect Shawn. Maybe things would've been different if he was there with Shawn at the time the guy kidnapped him. Pat Patterson entered the locker room and walked over to Paul. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Paul... Listen, I know this is hard for you... But... Um... I just wanted to tell you that we got some video of what happened in here... If you want to look at it, that is..." Pat told him.

Paul looked up at Pat. He looked clearly disgusted. Paul stood up and walked out the door to the production truck.

Shane turned to look at Paul as he entered the truck.

"Um... I strongly don't recommend you watching this video..." Shane told him.

Paul turned to glare at him, so Shane shrugged his shoulders and played the video. The voices weren't too clear, but Paul was able to connect the bits and pieces he heard.

"I'm Officer Jack Traven with the Precinct. I was asked to bring you in, in regards to some disturbance in the neighborhood," The man stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm not going to argue with you. Alright I'll come..," Shawn replied.

Paul saw that he had made a connection and got an idea.

"So, I guess some people mistaken you for Keanu Reeves, huh? I remember that his name was Officer Jack Traven in the movie Speed. That was a great movie..." Shawn continued and turned around to get his jacket.

Paul's eyes were ignited with fury as he watched the unidentified man's eyes widen with Shawn's statement. He pulled a lead pipe out of his belt and hit Shawn with it.

"Shit! How did you know that?" The man shouted as he beat Shawn down, stomped him out and watched as he doubled over in pain.

Paul, for some odd reason, kept watching. He watched as Shawn's body was wracked with coughs, before finally turning onto his side and spitting blood out of his mouth.

The man grabbed hold of Shawn and pulled him to his feet.

"Aw, God..." Shawn moaned.

He was barely able to walk, even with the man's help. Paul turned away from the video and fought away his tears. Shane turned it off and looked back at his father, Steve, Pat and Paul.

"Sick bastard..." Pat mumbled and looked away.

Vince was in shock.

"I... don't... believe this..." He stated and looked at his son in law.

Paul suddenly ran out of the truck. Steve turned around and ran after him.

"Hey! Paul! Are you ok?" Steve shouted after him.

Paul was leaning head first against a wall and looked as if he was sick to his stomach.

"That... Son of a bitch," Paul shouted and slammed his fist against the wall.

"He'll pay! I swear he'll pay! Why didn't I stay with Shawn in the locker room? If I stayed there this would never have happened! I should have been there with him! It's my fault!" Paul shouted continuously.

"Paul, I'm pretty damn sure you didn't tell that freak to come to the arena and do that. It's not your damn fault, do you hear me? You can't reverse time, Paul. There's nothing you can do but wait... I'm sorry... But that's the way things have to be." Steve told him.

Vince and Shane joined them in their current location.

"The show is going to start in about 10 minutes. Everyone is alerted about the sudden change, but no details were given as to why. Everyone will find out at the show what went down before with Shawn..." Shane stated.

"Yeah... Paul, we're really sorry. Security is gonna be sorry too. This will never happen again, and I won't rest peacefully until Shawn is home... Here, where he belongs." Vince told him.

Paul looked over at Vince.

"Dad... After what happened to him tonight... I don't think Shawn will ever be comfortable in a WWE arena ever again... When we get him back, you make sure to ask him if he wishes to uphold his contract or end it early." Paul angrily stated, turned on his heels and stomped away.


Raw

Just as planned, Raw started with Paul heading to the ring in his D-Generation X colors. Many fans were looking around for Shawn, and Paul knew how they felt. The fans weren't used to seeing Paul enter the ring by himself. Paul wasn't used to being able to walk down to the ring at his own speed without looking out for Shawn while he ran in circles around Paul. JR. and Jerry Lawler looked quite curious as well. They weren't aware of what went on backstage, but they would soon find out.

Paul stepped in the ring and took a mic from Lillian Garcia. He stood in the middle of the ring and looked around.

"Sorry, guys, there won't be any usual D-X routine done out here tonight. I want to have a few words with Vince McMahon. That jack off has crossed me for the last time! I can understand attacking me and Shawn in the parking lot and all the absurd matches... But now you've gone too far! Take a look at this," Paul paused and pointed up at the Tron.

The video of what happened backstage between Shawn and the supposed police officer played. The whole time the video was playing, Paul kept his eyes focused away from the Tron. He didn't want to watch it again. Once it was over, he looked around at the fans.

"Now that you've seen it... I want to ask you... Was any of the pranks we pulled on Vince McMahon worth doing that to Shawn? Honestly, did Shawn deserve what happened to him? I didn't think so. I'm going to say... Not even the great Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself deserved something like that."

Soon enough, Vince McMahon came out to a rather confused crowd. They shouted 'asshole' at him.

"Well... Well... Triple H... I can see you're angry, but don't point the finger unless you know who actually committed the crime. I am obviously not the man in the video you pulled up on the Tron, so you can't blame me. And I have resources to take care of Shawn right here in this arena. Now why would I want to go and do something as stupid as that? I can assure you that I was not behind the kidnapping of your fellow degenerate... And neither was my son Shane or any of our resources." Vince replied.

Paul looked at him and looked away, as if also agreeing in his mind.

"Ok. Let's say you are innocent and you weren't behind this... Who was it then? And why? Cause you know... You have plenty of reasons and, obviously you can get anyone you want to do your dirty work."

"See, Triple H, that's where you're wrong. I would never in a million years attack somebody or send someone to attack somebody with that type of brutality, and in front of a security camera nevertheless. That's not my style, even if you two degenerates did... Wreck my limo, my aircraft and my corporate headquarters..." Vince angrily stated.

"See, now... You just proved a point. You're a really big asshole. You just tried to prove yourself to be innocent, but then you said something to incriminate yourself... Now... This might sound odd but I am starting to believe that you're innocent." Paul replied.

"Ok, Triple H, ok. You know what, I am innocent whether you like it or not... Whether the fans like it or not. My mind may be deranged, but I'm not that psychotic. I have standards I go by, and I don't think it's necessary to attack a man as brutally as that one did to Shawn Michaels... And do it in front of a security camera... That's not me, Triple H, and you know that. I prefer attacks in the parking lot and the cafeteria." Vince told Paul with a snicker.

Paul looked at the extremely confused crowd.

"Alright. So you didn't do it. You're innocent. Who did it then? And what are you going to do about it?"

Vince tried to see if Paul was being serious or not.

"What do you mean by that? What am I going to do about it?" Vince asked.

Paul grew angry and gripped onto the top rope to keep from screaming at Vince.

"What I meant was... What the hell are you going to do about the kidnapping? Shawn is your employee, whether you like it or not. You have to do something about it. You can't let it slide no matter what you think of him."

Vince was obviously thinking about the situation. He truly didn't kidnap Shawn, nor did anyone he was associated with. He agreed with Paul, also. Mostly where he said that Shawn was his employee. He felt obligated to defend and protect his employees. Shawn did a lot for Vince and the company... And Shawn had been through so much in the past... How could he possibly let Shawn down now?

"Alright. Triple H, I have a proposition for you... You knock out your little D-X tactics... The spray-painted tag signs, I mean... And... I'll help you locate Shawn Michaels. You and me join forces, just this once. Once we find Shawn, all bets are off. What do you say?" Vince asked.

Paul looked around at the crowd before turning back to face Vince.

"Well, I have something to add to that. If I stop spray-painting the D-X tag, you stop forcing me into stupid ass pointless matches!"

Vince seemed a bit angry.

"I'm the one helping you out, Triple H." He told him.

"Oh no you are not! You're trying to prove your ass innocent in the D-Generation X court of law!" Paul replied.

Vince just stared at Paul. The two were staring each other down, obviously deep in thought.

"Alright, alright. No pointless matches... I promise..." Vince finally gave in.

Paul nodded his head in approval.

"Good. Exactly what I want to hear. Vince... You... You got yourself a deal... No more stupid matches, no more spray-painted D-X tags... It's just you, me and some resources looking for Shawn... And, I'm making sure of it that as soon as he is returned we go back to old time's sake. That means... The moment Shawn steps through a WWE arena doorway, we will be getting spray-paint and tearing up the joint! There will be... roosters... All over the place! Because in the end, Vince McMahon... D-X will only have two words for ya!" Paul listened to the fans scream the ever so famous two words, and in his heart wished his best friend would've heard the response.

"You know what, Triple H? I wouldn't have it any other way," Vince paused to think for a moment.

He walked backstage then reappeared on the ramp way.

"When it's all said and done, Hunter... I want you and Shawn to put this all over the backstage area." Vince revealed a 'Vince Likes...' shirt with a large rooster on it.

Paul looked it at when he noticed the fans going crazy. He smiled, but the smile quickly faded as he tried to hide his emotions.

"Oh... We will..." He managed to mumble before tossing down his mic, which automatically cued D-X's music.


Backstage

When they arrived backstage, Steve, Shane, Stephanie and some members of the event security team were waiting for them. Paul broke down and cried as he hugged his wife. Stephanie patted his back.

"You'll get him back, Paul. We all will. I saw the video," Stephanie paused and watched as her husband picked up his head to face her.

"And I passed it along to the local police. They sent a positive ID on this guy. His name is Austin Payne. He's never done anything against the law before. The cops have a reason to believe that this guy has been waiting for this moment since February... And," Stephanie paused again, now realizing everyone was listening to her.

"If Shawn wasn't in the locker room... Payne would've gone after the next guy on his list," Stephanie looked at Paul. "Who just so happens to be you, Paul."

"I don't understand..." Paul stated.

Shane grew quite angry and decided to lash out.

"Don't you get it? How can you not understand? This guy is obviously highly agitated with the recreation of D-Generation X! You still seem a bit confused. Let me break it down for you. If this guy was planning the kidnapping of Shawn since February, we can tell who he's a die-hard fan of," Shane turned to look at his father. "Obviously this guy is outraged and has been that way since Shawn started to revolt against you... Mostly in February. And you, Paul, have been revolting against my dad since May. That makes you another target in this guys mind if I'm right about the motives." Shane stated.

"Why didn't you just become a cop? The guys down at head office think it's the same motives as you." An officer stated from behind.

"That means you have to be surveillance 24/7, Mr. Levesque. We can't risk having you kidnapped as well." The other police officer stated, backing up his partners statement.

Paul turned to look at him.

"I'd rather be with Shawn. I'd rather see what this Payne guy is doing to him then be on the outside not knowing what the hell is going on." Paul replied.

Shane stepped up to him.

"You're being an asshole and you're scaring your wife. Think about what the hell you're saying! I know you're really pissed. I know you're thinking of all the 'what if's,' and I definitely know you would switch places with Shawn in a hot second if you could! Because I would too. And because I can't, I have to work on this side of the situation and help bring him back in one piece. So pull yourself together and help us! You need to be protected! You never know if this guy will just throw Shawn away and grab you instead. Aurora doesn't need to slowly figure out in her head that her daddy is missing, and Declan and Kenney don't need to realize their uncle vanished. Protect the ones you love by protecting yourself."

"And when did you get so smart?" Steve sarcastically asked, trying to make a joke to ease the moment.

Shane turned to look at him.

"I really feel strongly about this. I don't want anything to happen to Paul, that's all... I'm not saying that Shawn was expandable because he wasn't family because that's a lie. Shawn is family. I'm just saying... That... We can't let it happen again, ya know? Oh, and I was smart since I graduated from Boston University back in 1996, thank you very much." Shane stated and put a doofy smile on his face.

"Shane is right, Paul. You really can't think negatively about this." Stephanie told him.

Paul looked back at her.

"Steph! If you saw that video you would be thinking negatively about this too! Did you honestly see what that guy did to Shawn? If he did that in front of a security camera, imagine what he's going to do behind a camera! God only knows where this guy Payne is taking Shawn and what he's planning to do to him!" Paul screamed and forced himself away from the group.

Vince looked at everyone surrounding him.

"Just... Make sure nobody gets in to this arena. Nobody gets in or out until the show ends," Vince paused and watched as the event security team marched away from him, then turned to look at the police officers, Shane, Stephanie and Steve.

"Can you three just work on calming him down? I know it's going to be hard... That's what I get for letting him hang with the Kliq 12 years ago," Vince saw a small smile appear on their faces.

"Just go and cool his jets," He stated and watched them walk away.

"Ok. What can we do about this guy? Where do you think he's going?" Vince asked the officers.

"Well... In most kidnapping cases, the suspect never takes the victim to a known place. It's usually somewhere vacant and abandoned." The first police officer stated.

His last name was 'Hagen.' The second officer, 'Vasquez,' looked at his partner, then at Vince.

"We would have to wait for a little while. Do you know if Shawn had a cell phone on him? If so we can run a trace on it and figure out where they are. But what we can do is set up some check points along the highway into and out of the city," Vasquez saw a point of disgust on Vince's face. "Don't worry, Mr. McMahon. We will find Shawn. No matter what, he will be returned... Now, I understand there's a wife and kids at home in San Antonio... Should we call or do you want to do it?"

Vince looked around. He almost forgot about them.

"Um... I'd better take care of it. But... Wait... No, you do it here in front of me and I'll jump on the phone, but only if Rebecca asks to speak with me."

Vasquez sighed.

"This is my least favorite part about kidnapping cases... Having to report the incident to parents and loved ones, if they don't already know... Um... Should I send a copy of the video down to the police station there so she can see it?" He asked Vince.

Vince's face turned red with anger.

"NO! What kind of a question is that? Of course not! Do not show her that video! Don't even mention it!" Vince yelled at Vasquez and Hagen.

"Er... Yes sir. There will be no mentioning of the video to Mrs. Michaels. I was just informed that check points have been set up along the highway... But... Payne already got a head start. He might not even be in the same state as us."


A/N: I edited the grammar and spelling and then decided to change the title to 'Things Fall Apart.' It's the title of a novel I was forced to read for my college English class. Things Fall Apart was written by Chinua Achebe. I also fixed the situation I noticed when I got to Chapter 26, which was Shane's youngest sons name. In this chapter (the original) I had his name as 'Kennedy' when it's actually 'Kenyon,' so I decided to just refer to the child as 'Kenney.'