Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.


Part Seven

"What in the hell was that?" Booker T managed to ask, and all Eve could do was shrug her shoulders. The truth was, she wanted to cheer the Shield for what they'd just done to Zack Ryder, but she knew she couldn't exactly do that, not right now. The SmackDown General Manager had no idea what Ryder had done to her after RAW earlier in the week, and odds were he wouldn't believe her even if she did tell him. He wouldn't want to think that Zack Ryder, loveable loser, was capable of attacking a woman physically.

"I don't know. I didn't even know they were here tonight," Eve finally said, her words quiet. Since they'd made their first appearance at Survivor Series back in November, the trio had been more likely to show up on RAW than on SmackDown, so it was actually a bit of a surprise to see them tonight. Even more of a surprise to see them attack Zack Ryder. To be perfectly honest, he didn't seem to be a big enough name to be on their radar. Their attacks so far had been on people like Orton and Team Hell No and Ryback... Not on guys that held an imaginary internet championship and spent most of their free time on Twitter bitching about not being on the shows.

Booker shook his head. "This is ridiculous," he said, then looked over at the diva. "I've got to go to the trainers, check on Ryder. You... I wouldn't put anything past those guys, so you stay here and be careful," the man said, and it took Eve a moment to realize that he was concerned that the Shield might somehow come after her. The Shield, however, hadn't gone after any of the divas as of yet, and Eve didn't really think they would... Of course, she also hadn't really considered Zack Ryder to be the type of person to be on their radar, either, so...

"I'll stay here," Eve told him, part of her just glad he wasn't insisting that she accompany him or whatever because, really... If she was forced to go anywhere near Zack Ryder, she would probably end up kicking him somewhere really painful, no matter the consequences. Yeah, sure, he'd just had the shit beat out of him by a trio of men, but that didn't change the fact that she wanted revenge on him for herself. She was pretty sure that going with Booker T to check on Ryder only to end up attacking him herself would get her in big trouble and quite possibly fired... Because she, of course, was the bad girl and Zack was the good guy.

Bullshit.

Unaware of Eve's train of thought, the GM of SmackDown just nodded his head. "You do that... And maybe work on that tournament you were going to put together," he said, and Eve nodded, the diva watching as her boss left the room, then turning her attention back to the monitor, where they were already showing a replay of what had just happened. She frowned as she studied it... Not because she was upset with what the Shield had done; she wasn't. She kind of wanted to congratulate the guys on a great showing or something. Her frown was more because of her confusion than anything else because she just couldn't quite figure out why it was that Zack Ryder was suddenly on their radar as someone to beat up. It didn't make a lot of sense because Ryder was basically a nobody that barely appeared on the main shows - RAW and SmackDown - and was instead relegated to either Saturday Morning Slam or Superstars, which only appeared online now. He never really even made it on Main Event. Really, the guy's career had basically tanked since she'd kicked him in the balls at WrestleMania.

She was actually kind of proud of that.

Shaking her head, the diva made her way back toward the couch she'd been seated on when the attack had started, sitting down and picking up the binders she'd been going through... Quickly looking up when she heard the sound of someone approaching... The tension in her body relaxing slightly when she saw who it was.

"Booker T has gone to the trainers' area to see what's going on," the divas' champion told Kaitlyn, frowning a little as she looked at the young diva. Kaitlyn actually looked a little worried at the moment, and it kind of made her a little sick to think that the woman was worried about Zack Ryder. Zack Ryder didn't *deserve* to have anyone worried about him.

"I can't believe that happened. I know they've been going out there and attacking... But why Zack? What injustice has he committed?" the Houston native questioned, referring to the fact that the Shield often called themselves a 'shield against injustice'. And while Eve could think of a very solid injustice that Ryder had committed... Well, it wasn't like the Shield actually knew about that...

"I don't know. Maybe they thought it was an injustice that he had a spot on the card tonight," Eve replied, knowing that her tone was a little more snide than was really called for, but Kaitlyn didn't exactly bring out the best in her, and having her stand there and be all worried about Ryder of all people just made it worse.

Kaitlyn glared at her. "That is an awful thing to say. Zack didn't deserve that. No one they've attacked has deserved it, but Zack... He gets a chance on SmackDown for the first time in I don't know how long and they come down there and attack him for no reason. Of course, you hate him, so of course you'd make the bitchy remark. You probably sent them after him-"

"I don't even know them. I see them as frequently as you do. Which is to say that I see them whenever they make an appearance on the show. I've never even run into them backstage," Eve stated, putting her binder down and rising from the couch, heading over to the doorway where Kaitlyn stood. "Now, if you're actually concerned about Zack Ryder - and only God knows why you would be - I suggest you go down to the trainers' room and throw your fit there, because I don't have the patience for it. And even if you don't go and check on Ryder, I still strongly suggest that you get out of here. Because unlike you, I have work to do."

And with that, Eve nudged Kaitlyn out of the doorway, shut the door in her face, locked it, and headed back to the couch, picked up the binders again, and began to put together the tournament to find the next challenger for the US title.


Author's note:

Thanks to those that have reviewed so far. And for those curious, yes, Seth and Eve will come face to face very soon.