Chapter 28
It was not a surprise to discover Vince had disappeared with Stephanie, seemingly off the face of the earth for the next week. Jerry Lawler did an interview with Vince and his daughter to discuss what had happened with the Undertaker, but it wasn't very long or informative. All Vince had said was Undertaker had become this creature that was created, the Undertaker, actually believing he was his character instead of the man. They also mentioned the teddy bear incident and revealed it was Stephanie's from her childhood Vince had given her.
Over the next week, the Undertaker had demanded his Ministry to find the princess, but they couldn't locate her whereabouts anywhere. Savalyn went back to doing her job with little to no problems, no more threats headed her way and everything began settling down besides the wrath of the Undertaker. He was livid his plans had been thwarted due to Vince's riches and resources.
She continued traveling with Kane, finally compromising with him to get two separate beds in their rooms and she would pay half the bill. Kane had no problem with it and they seemed to get along fine, always keeping to themselves until after noon, then he was more talkative as the day progressed. He was comforting when she needed him to be and also quiet. Mark hadn't tried contacting her once throughout the week, which also wasn't unforeseen. It hurt, but working helped Savalyn keep her mind off of him and Kane went with her to every single job she had to do for the company outside of ring announcing. Savalyn kept the smile on her face until night rolled around when she was in bed alone. There were no tears, just deep sadness and it didn't help her dreams were filled of them together from their relationship.
It was just under 3 weeks until the next pay-per-view event, Backlash, where Undertaker was set to go one-on-one with Ken Shamrock. They'd been feuding ever since Ken stuck his nose in the Ministry's business by forcing Christian to divulge Stephanie's whereabouts, saving her from the Undertaker and the Ministry of Darkness. Savalyn wasn't looking forward to seeing it because Ken Shamrock wasn't dubbed the World's Most Dangerous Man for nothing. He truly was lethal in the ring and so was Mark. She could only hope he made it out of the match unscathed.
Oh Ken had messed up majorly. Taker could take the beating he most likely would be on the receiving end of, but would definitely have the last laugh tonight. There was no doubt about it. His patience was gone and tonight was the beginning of the end…for the boss and his precious Corporation, starting with the World's Most Dangerous Man. Shamrock kept putting himself in situations he had no business being in, kept interfering. Then there was Taker's frustrations with the McMahons…Vince had Stephanie on lockdown. He knew that much simply because, if she had been able to, she would've let him know the situation. Or perhaps she had turned traitor...he DESPISED not knowing; his chess board had been mutilated. So tonight, he had decided to vent his frustrations.
Of course Stephanie hadn't turned traitor! She never would in a million years, wanting her father to suffer for everything he'd put Savalyn through. But she was stuck, locked down literally, and had nowhere to go without her father or an escort of his choosing such. Luckily, her and Taker had planned ahead for this and they had one final ace up their sleeve.
Ryan swallowed hard, not believing she actually agreed to do this and snuck down the corridor where the Ministry's locker room resided, finding it in no time. Her hand rose up to knock and Ryan hesitated, having second thoughts. She didn't want to do this; the Undertaker scared her to death, but Savalyn was her friend and she trusted Stephanie explicitly. Just knock, she mentally coached, tapping on the door twice and was pulled into the darkened room instantly.
Ron nodded at Bradshaw while they instructed Ryan to sit and wait, thankful she hadn't made this hard on them. Now all they had to do was subdue her brother during the night and then the real fun could begin.
"Make sure nobody finds her, not until I'm ready."
Ryan had been a very good sport about all this and Taker would take full advantage of her corporation. He knew very little about her other than she was much better looking than her brother and with a more stable temperament. Ryan had taken the week off, so to speak, and spent it in hiding on a beach, all of which he had paid for. She'd been in touch with princess supposedly and agreed to let him 'sacrifice' her, before being hidden until tonight. Shamrock was losing his mind and it was great, one bright spot to this week. Taker hadn't missed Savalyn and Bradshaw no longer talking very much or the association with Kane, of all people. He needed a distraction.
"Savalyn, you have a package."
Stepping away from the hair stylist since she just finished, Savalyn frowned at the brown package in front of her, raising a brow. Who was it from? No name…normally she wouldn't have been so quick to assume something vicious was inside, but not lately. Her guard had been up and this just made the alarm bells go off in her head louder.
"Thanks…" She murmured to the technician and walked off down the hallway, dressed in a deep purple chiffon dress.
Did she open it now or wait until later? There was time before Raw began and her curiosity burned to know what the contents were. Maybe it was something from Mark…she immediately dismissed that idea. The man was never one for gifts, of any kind. Surprises yes, but not actual gifts. Sighing, Savalyn stood against the wall and ripped open the package to reveal…a video tape.
"Watch me." She read aloud, looking back and forth down the hallways and felt her stomach clench violently.
Now she had to find a room with a VCR and TV. What Savalyn got to see was Howard, from a few years ago, clearing his throat as he paced in front of a desk. The video was obviously from a security recording, time stamped and all.
"Ah," Howard quit his pacing when a door off-screen opened, extending his hand. "Mr. McMahon, thank you for seeing me."
"You got me curious, Howard." Vince said congenially, walking around and appearing onscreen as he sat down behind the desk. "You wanted to talk about Mark and Savalyn?" That was definitely something to be curious about, the odd couple of the WWF.
"What?" Savalyn whispered, pressing a hand over her heart while watching the footage and felt tears burn her eyes the longer it went.
Howard…her mentor, the man she trusted more than anyone else in the company, had betrayed her. For months, she had tried to figure out the reasoning behind Mark breaking up with her and this was a surefire clue. The imbecile had gone to Vince expressing concerns for her future and called her relationship with Mark a distraction. A DISTRACTION?! They were in love and happy! What the hell was wrong with that?! Savalyn NEVER faltered in her work, not once and was praised on an almost daily basis by Howard himself!
"How could he do this to me?" She asked in a heartbroken voice once the video ended and slowly slipped it out of the VCR, sky blues turning to pure ice.
Howard had gone to Vince and Savalyn knew, without a shadow of a doubt, Vince had in turn gone to Mark. Their relationship ended because of a meddlesome old fart and their boss! Stalking out of the room with videotape in hand, Savalyn headed straight for the Ministry locker room to have a CHAT with her ex-boyfriend.
"Please tell me you're not here to start something, Sava." Bradshaw begged when he opened the door and seen the royally pissed off woman, eyeballing the tape she was clutching. "This is not the night for it, trust me on this."
Tonight was supposed to be one of those game changing nights and it needed to go off without a hitch – without distraction. She was definitely a distraction. Apparently, from the flames burning in those blue eyes, ready to be a hitch as well.
So many different emotions all overwhelmed her at once as Savalyn merely handed over the videotape to Bradshaw silently. She didn't have to tell him what to do with it, he would make sure Mark received it. Whether he watched it or not was on him. Despite what she found out, Savalyn had a job to do and leaving wasn't an option. This would be information she took with her to the grave. Nobody else would find out about it unless Mark opened his mouth because she didn't plan on doing so. However, the moment she saw Howard waiting for her at gorilla position, Savalyn could already feel the words building up inside of her. All she did was smile back at him, her eyes remaining iced over and walked out to ringside with him, staying completely professional. He would get his in time, especially if Mark decided to watch that videotape she left with John.
Taker had taken the tape, but there was no time to watch it. He was curious, he admitted it, but curiosity had to wait. Tonight, business had to come first. Bradshaw had said it was delivered by Savalyn…and he wondered if she had grown spiteful – if this was something he'd regret watching. Taker shook his head, knowing she was nothing like that and he would drive himself nuts wondering about it. Sighing, he gestured for everyone to leave him so he could watch whatever this was in peace.
The night progressed and seemed to drag forever, Savalyn not really paying attention or showing enthusiasm. Even her ring announcing lacked a certain…flare and for good reason. When Howard asked her what was wrong, she merely glared at him with those icy eyes and he left her alone. No words were spoken. Finally, it came to be the end of the night and the Ministry of Darkness flanked out on the stage, dragging someone with them. Undertaker had promised earlier in the night a certain young beautiful woman would be sacrificed and Savalyn had to wonder if they'd finally gotten to Stephanie again. Imagine her surprise when it was unveiled to be her other best friend, Ryan Shamrock.
"KENNY!" Ryan screamed out as planned, already knowing her brother wouldn't come to her rescue, but she had to play the part, tears spilling down her cheeks. The symbol she was strapped to rose in the air in front of everyone in the arena, the purple lighting being the only one as it all casted on Ryan Shamrock while she was sacrificed. "NO!"
"Oh my god…"
First Stephanie and now Ryan – what the HELL was Mark thinking?! Why was he targeting Ryan? Was it to further his feud with Ken? So many questions whirled through her mind as Savalyn continued to watch and listen helplessly, doing her best to blink the tears from her eyes.
It was definitely to piss Ken Shamrock off. At this point, the world. He had watched that film and, if Howard Finkle or Vince McMahon had been within reaching distance, Taker would have killed them on national television without a second thought. He had briefly considered actually harming Ryan to further his point, to let Vince know he was done screwing around, but…a deal was a deal. Taker had yet to seriously harm a woman. He did have some standards and that alone made him better than Vince, something he wasn't about to change.
Between finding out Howard's deceit and watching another one of her best friend's targeted and sacrificed by the man she loved, Savalyn was ready to call it a night. She didn't bother waiting for Kane, there was no reason to. She left him a scrawled note explaining she needed time alone and hoped he understood. Just one night by herself to cry it out and then she would return back to normal. Savalyn called for a cab and directed it to take her to the nearest motel, avoiding hotels at all costs because of the WWF. After paying cash for her room, under a new alias she'd made up, Savalyn showered and bunkered down in her room with some candy and chips from the vending machine. And she finally let the tears fall freely down her cheeks, not caring about anything or anyone at the moment except herself. However, she did hope Ryan was alright and not scarred mentally by what Mark had done to her.
"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Mark stared down at his boss, wondering what the fuck Vince was on about now. The man had come to talk about his relationship with Savalyn, of all things. Totally off limits, it was a personal thing not professional. Vince needed to learn where to draw lines.
"Mark, now look, there's some concern going around that she's pushing aside her job to focus on you. That she's gotten her job because of you." Vince said reasonably. "I'm not saying it's true, not on her end anyway."
"And just the hell is THAT supposed to mean?"
"It means exactly what I said. Her reputation is on the line as well as yours. Dating within the company isn't a good idea, Mark. You know this. Look how many failed relationships and marriages have been through here. Do you really want to be another one? Do you want to ruin not only your life, but hers too?"
Vince took what Howard told him to heart and genuinely cared about his employees happiness, but business came first. If he saw something causing a rift in his business, he did what he could to put a stop to it. Like now.
"All I'm saying is to think about it. Think about what this will do to both of you if it doesn't pan out. She has a lot of raw talent and Howard's efforts will be for naught if she leaves the company because of you."
"You know as well as I do that's all bullshit. Savalyn is too professional to leave because of a breakup." Mark snorted, wondering just who Vince thought was buying this crap. Vince was fine as a boss, but anything that could affect his company and he went into Satan mode. "Not that it's any of your goddamn business." He was losing his temper.
"Let me put it this way, I'm making it my business." Vince wasn't risking it. Taker was a draw, there'd be problems if they split. "Either things go my way now, or she goes her way now. You two can have a relationship with her at home."
Gritting his teeth at the memory, Taker continued driving down the road away from the arena, having accomplished what he wanted tonight. That conversation sealed Vince's fate and forced Mark to go to the depths he currently was, including teaming up with the man's very own daughter to bring him down. Threatening Savalyn's job was the straw that broke the camel's back and Taker would stop at nothing to ensure she was safe and secure in this company, no matter what he had to do or how low he had to sink.
