Chapter X: Secret Missions and Stolen Moves
The next evening found Lita and Samia at Monday night RAW. The two settled in the ladies' locker room despite a few glares. Samia was beginning to miss the privacy of the dressing rooms that she once had as a valet and whatever the hell she was to the nWo. Lita excused herself not long after their arrival, mentioning that she needed to talk to somebody about something. Samia brushed off her vagueness, checking her hair and make-up again before following Lita out the door. She had not dressed yet for the match but instead wore her stilettos, a red halter top, and a black knee-length skirt with a split that ended inches below her hip. She was on a mission.
Evolution's dressing room was easy to find. Ric Flair opened the door when she knocked. He grinned his million-dollar smile and asked if he could be of assistance. She leaned onto the threshold of the doorway, crossing her arms underneath her breasts and causing them to rise. "How 'bout a 'hi, how ya doin' first?" she commented in her Southern drawl.
"Good evening, Miss Carlsen. How are you on this fine night?" he said with a hint of sarcasm but with a smile.
"I am well. Thank you." Randy Orton appeared at Flair's side at the mention of her name. They had never worked together and, now that he knew her name and her game, he was interested in what she wanted. His eyes started with her red toe-nails and traced her frame as he went up. When he finally met her eyes, she winked at him then turned back to Flair. "Is Mr. Helmsley around?"
"Actually, he's not. Said something about having to talk to Bischoff."
"Thanks, gentlemen. I'll be seeing y'all around." She waved her fingers at them in a 'goodbye' and sashayed down the hall. Glancing back, she caught Flair and Orton watching and gave them a smile. They quickly stepped back into the room. "I feel like such a slut," she muttered to herself. Not much farther down the hall, her target appeared.
"Well, look what we have here," Triple H said, clucking his tongue. "The one person that I've been wanting to talk to."
She gave him a side-ways grin and crossed her arms again. He obviously noticed, glancing down briefly but back up again. "Same here."
He shifted his bottle of water from one hand to the other to prop up against the wall. "So, Carlsen…you're back?"
"Nah, I'm just a figment of your imagination."
"Some things may have changed," he responded, glancing over her body. "But that mouth of yours will probably never change."
"There are some things that you can't change, even if you want to."
"True," he remarked. There was a moment of silence before Triple H spoke again. "I'm very impressed with your in-ring work."
"Thank you. I worked very hard to be impressive."
"Who did you work with?" She answered but he commented that he had never heard of her trainer.
"You know, I'm impressed too," Samia commented. He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, look at you now. You said 'goodbye' to those old fogies and the world is eating out of your hand." Hunter slightly grinned. "You cull the best in the business and there you have it—Evolution. You have built an amazing group, Hunter, all by yourself." She shifted her feet so that the slit in her skirt parted higher.
A little bit of blush seemed to be creeping in his cheeks. "I can't take all the credit. Ric helped—"
"But you did the work," she interrupted, putting a hand up to stop him. "You are no longer in the Kliq's shadow."
"And I've worked damn hard to get there," he responded with a knitted brow.
"I've heard that Nash is going to try to be named as a contender again." Triple H's eyes lit up. "I know you don't have to worry about him taking the title, but that must be real annoying to have him following in your shadow. I mean, it's nice and all that you're walking ahead but he and Shawn Michaels just want to block your day in the sun. That must be aggravating to have to continually deal with."
She almost squealed with glee as he digested her words, but then he said, "Yeah, but with my guys, they're not that big of a deal."
"Sure, but you're the one that still has to wrestle. They just run in and make it look like you can't handle yourself."
He thought about that for a few seconds. "Yeah, but I still win."
"Well, I just know they better not cross my path." She dropped her hands to her hips.
"And who's gonna help you when you put down the crowbar?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
She laughed at his words. "You know me. It's best not to be on my bad side."
"Same here," he responded, no mirth in his voice.
"So…are either of us on one another's bad side?" She nibbled at her bottom lip and placed a hand on his outstretched arm that held him up against the wall.
He didn't physically respond but said, "Tell me this. Were you playing games with me a couple of weeks ago in that bar?"
"Try to see this from my point of view. I really screwed you guys over. When you approached me and were all smiles, I couldn't have been happier. When I realized that you didn't recognize me, I didn't want to…" She trailed off, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes and began chewing on her bottom lip again. "You weren't mad at me and I wanted it to stay that way."
"Did you not think that when I found out that would make me even angrier?"
"Not at the time. I just thought…well, put yourself in my shoes."
Hunter glanced down at her bare toes. "I don't think I would look good in high heels," he chuckled.
"So…we're alright?" She stroked his forearm.
"We'll talk." He stood back up straight and took a swig from his water bottle before starting to walk away. "Good luck on your title match tonight," Triple H called over his shoulder.
"Title match?"
He stopped and turned around. "You are welcome, mademoiselle," he said with a bow. His crooked grin told her everything. But why? was her only thought, why would he care to con Bischoff into giving me a title match? She watched him round the corner and turned straight into Lita.
The senior diva's face said nothing. She took the blonde's arm and pulled her down the hall. The two gained a few catcalls as Lita was showing more leg than usual. She opened a door and tugged Samia inside. "What are you doing?" Samia demanded, crossing her arms and tapping her foot while Lita checked the room to see if anyone was in there.
"Which part?" the fiery redhead shot back. Samia waved her arm to indicate the room. It was a small private dressing, one like she and RVD had often shared. Lita smiled. "You like?" Samia furrowed her brow in response. "I found out it was available and took the opportunity. I went ahead and brought your stuff." She pointed to a corner and Samia recognized her bag.
"Now, why did you drag me off like that?"
"To ask you what the hell you were doing sucking up to Triple H like that," Lita responded, the smile disappearing from her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Samia replied, walking over to the couch where Lita stood.
"I know. The whole arena and every viewer also know."
"Ooohhh," she whispered and sank to the couch. "That wasn't supposed to be seen by anybody."
"And why is that?" Lita prodded.
"I've got something working right now. It's something I can't talk about."
"Not even to me?" Samia sucked in her bottom lip and shook her head. Lita continued, "Unless you can start talking about it, you may stand to lose what you've gained back of your reputation."
Samia knew that. She just needed a little more time before it happened. With a sigh, the blonde looked back up at Lita. "So, you got a match tonight?" Changing the subject was probably the best move.
"Yeah, in about twenty minutes. I was going to get water when I saw you on a monitor. Thought it the best time to let you know I got us a private dressing room. Now, I'm finally going to get my water. You know your match is the second one after mine?"
"Unfortunately, yeah." Lita slipped out the door and Samia was alone for the first and last time that night.
Van Dam had taught her well in beginning to stretch long before the match. So, she slipped out of her outfit and began digging through her bag for her gear. The knock at the door at first startled her but then she realized that it was just Lita. When the heavy door opened, she stood up and turned around. "Did you get…" Her words trailed off as she scrambled for something to cover up her naked chest.
Rob's cheeks turned a bright red and he started backing up. His mouth opened to apologize but nothing came out. He pointed at the door and quickly slipped out. Her entire body was as red as her face. No time was wasted in getting dressed. Another knock at the door sounded and Rob's voice called out from the other side. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, it's safe." She bent over to stuff a few things back in her bag when she noticed his behind the couch. They avoided eye contact as she spoke. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Lita not tell you?"
"Tell me what?" she asked, knowing the answer.
"The two of us pulled off this dressing room. Thought we'd let you in on it." He paused. "Sorry about walking in on you. I thought, you know, that since…"
"No problem. Not like we haven't ever seen each other…" she trailed off and they both sighed. She noticed he was dressed for his match and decided to break the tension. "When's your match?"
"Between Lita's and yours. Want to help each other stretch?"
Her mind said 'no' but her mouth spoke first. "Why not?" Lita was back soon and neither noticed the smile on her face when she entered the room. They were almost oblivious to her presence. For a brief while, the two went back in time and nothing had ever changed. Lita had already left before they realized that. Finally, Rob stood up, declaring that it was time for him to head on towards the ring. Samia wasn't sure she was grateful that he was leaving or saddened that the moment was over. She hoped she hadn't given him the impression that she wanted to get back together. Probably shot that when I said "Sure, put your hand there and push." With the shake of her head, she rose to leave and head to the gorilla position.
A victorious Rob passed by and he pulled her out of the way of an angry Steven Richards followed by an explosive Victoria with a fuse waiting to be lit. Rob held her into the dark curtains as the defeated passed by. Samia muttered an awkward 'thanks' and slid out of the embrace. Rob watched her wind her blonde hair up and pull the fedora over it. With the tinkling of piano music, she stepped forward and he disappeared to their dressing room.
The challenger made her way to ring with little reaction from the crowd. The arena was still trying to figure out if she was pulling one over on Triple H or was really drifting in his direction. With just the right poses, they were back on her side momentarily. During her pose on one of the turnbuckles, Molly Holly's music rang out and the reigning champion angrily stomped her way down the ramp. She held her title high in the middle of the ring and then called Samia some unsavory names before handing it off to the referee. Samia didn't care. There wasn't one of those words she hadn't heard from others when in the company of the nWo.
Molly wasted no time and the two locked up. As Molly tensed to toss Samia, Samia hooked her leg around Molly's knee causing them both to tumble and sending Molly out of the ring. Before Molly could rise, Samia climbed the turnbuckle and then landed on her with a flying cross-body. Pain shot throughout every limb as she rolled away. I promise never to steal that move from Shawn Michaels again… she thought, groaning from jarred bones.
As the referee shouted, "Seven," Samia pulled herself up by the ring apron and crawled under the bottom rope. Molly was not far behind but, by the time she was on her feet, she was bouncing on her back. Samia ran by to spring off the ropes but Molly found the strength to grab her ankle. Her forehead bounced off the turnbuckle and, for a brief moment, she blacked out. Molly was setting her up in the corner when she came to and she kicked out and caught Molly in the crotch. As Molly rolled on the mat in pain, Samia shouted, "I didn't think you were that much of a woman anyhow." The words had barely come out of her mouth as she perfectly placed an elbow drop. She grabbed one arm to pull Molly into the middle of the ring for the Angel of Death but Molly caught the rope causing Samia to lose her grip on Molly and fall flat on her butt.
As Samia tried to shake her head from the jar, Molly was able to gain enough momentum to execute a low drop-kick. Samia wasn't there to win the title but she sure as hell wasn't there to be made a fool of by Molly Holly. She was angry with herself for missing the small things and not setting up several moves in a row. As Molly dragged her to the middle of the ring, Samia regained her wits and jabbed a painful elbow into Molly's face. After a hip-up, of which she was proud to have been able to learn after way too many months of practicing, Samia clotheslined Molly, not once, but twice. After a facebreaker, Molly was primed for the Angel of Death. Samia set her up facing the entrance. If there's one thing she learned, it was never turn your back on the ramp during a submission hold.
When Victoria and Steven raced out of the back, Samia held on as long as she could, hoping that Molly would tap out before they got there. It wasn't enough. She dropped Molly's arms and ducked Richards' punch, spearing him into the turnbuckle. Victoria jerked her out of the corner by her hair. Between Victoria and a recovered Molly, Samia was driven to her knees as the bell rang in her ears. After Steven joined in, she just hoped that someone in the back cared enough to help out…
…to which someone did. The steel chair made a sickening thud on Richards' back. Victoria ducked as Lita swung at her. She and Molly retreated, dragging Steven with them. Lita threw the chair at the trio and then turned to Samia who was up on one knee. Lita supported her with one arm and they slowly made their way back to the dressing room. Rob already had ice packs waiting. She tried to brush them off, telling them that she had been hurt worse and been fine. Rob disappeared for pain relievers and Lita left her on the couch as she worked on getting them ready to leave.
The knock at the door made Samia's temple throb. Lita started to say "come in," but thought twice about it. She opened the door a crack and Samia heard her spit out, "What do you want?" There was a deep voice mumbling on the other side. Lita spoke again. "I bet he does." The door slammed shut.
"Please, don't do that," Samia groaned around the ice pack. "Who was it?"
"Ric Flair." Lita didn't elaborate and went back to pulling their gear together. Samia rose up on the couch and stared her down, waiting to hear the rest of the story. "Oh, fine. Triple H wanted to know how you were and wished you the best on your next title match. Whatever that means."
"I don't want to know," Samia replied and eased back down, praying that Rob would return soon with something for her headache.
TBC…
Author's Notes: Big thanks to my readers and to those who have reviewed: LeelooJinn, Eternal Sailor Serenity, Funky in Fishnet, BtchieChrissy, Kora Flair, and lucyzigg.