Chapter 38: Caught Off Guard

"Well, look at that," I say with a chuckle as we pull up to the arena, our long drive now finally over. "We reached the arena, and I believe we have quite the amount of time to spare right?"

"Over half an hour's worth actually. Thirty-five minutes, if you want to be exact," says the Viper as we pull into the section of the parking lot that was cordoned off for WWE staff members only. "That's more than what we first predicted."

"Looks like your making that meeting after all Ran," I say with a smirk as I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I quickly pluck it out and answer it. "Hello?"

"Mara! Thank goodness you answered," Cody says in complete relief as Randy finds a nice spot to park the car in. "Where are you guys right now? You still on the highway?"

"We just parked in the lot outside the arena actually. We'll be inside in just a few more minutes," I say as Randy cuts the engine. "Is everything okay? Your voice sounds a little strained right now."

"I'm looking for Ted right now. He went to catering to grab us some chips, but he was taking too long, so I went after him. I'm standing in catering right now, and he's a complete no-show."

"So, you're calling me because you've become so impatient with Ted because he didn't come back with your afternoon snack?" I ask as Randy starts chuckling on my left. "Wow, this bet has really gotten to your head man."

"One: The bet hasn't gone to my head, and two: I didn't finish my entire story," he tells me with agitation laced in his tone. "Ted went to get the chips about a good 45 minutes ago. When I realized he was taking a little too long to do such a simple task, I went after him, but he was nowhere to be found in here. I've been looking for him for the past thirty minutes now."

"Maybe he's plotting some prank to get back at you for all the measly tasks your making him do as a result of you winning the bet," I suggest as Randy and I exit the car. "Other than that, I must admit, this doesn't sound like normal Ted behavior. He's not the kind of guy to just suddenly disappear right out of the blue."

"Exactly!" Cody exclaims into the receiver. "He usually leaves a note . . . I'm starting to get a little worried now."

"Have you been asking people around for Ted?" I ask as Randy quickly grabs his stuff from the back of the trunk. "I'm sure someone must have seen him either come into catering or at least gone in that direction."

"I've been asking, but no one has any good news to share," mumbles the Georgia-born superstar. "I've even asked the staff overseeing the food stations here at catering if they saw him. None of them have even seen Ted set foot in here."

"Okay . . . that's troubling," I say as I shake my head. "Meet us outside by the entrance. We'll continue this discussion then."

"I'm on my way . . ." says Cody before he hangs up on his end of the line.

"Is everything alright?" Randy asks me as I hang up and put my phone back into my pocket. "What's going on with Cody?"

"Apparently, Ted's gone missing and Cody can't find him anywhere," I say as I take his hand in mine. "We're going to meet him by the entrance to see what we can do."

"So much for a peaceful time at SmackDown . . ." Randy mumbles as he quickly sets the rental's alarm.

"How is any night during a WWE event peaceful?" I ask with an eyebrow raised as he starts pulling me forward.

"Hmm . . . you make a good point there . . ." Randy says in mild agreement as we walk to the arena. It wasn't hard to spot Cody leaning a few feet away from the entrance, concern the only emotion on his face. "Hey Cody!"

"Randy! Mara!" the tall, but not as tall as Randy, wrestler exclaims as he jogs over to us. "It's nice for you two to finally make it."

"Sorry, we had bus trouble . . ." Randy says with a sheepish look on his face. "Anyway, back to Ted. Where have you already checked for him in the arena?"

"Catering, the ring, the stands, and the men's locker room, which are the most likely places he could have gone too . . . John's inside still continuing the search."

"Maybe he went off to explore some other parts of the arena and got himself lost . . ." I mumble as I turn to the direction to where all the tour buses were parked. "Or maybe he went to the tour bus instead."

"Mara and I will check your tour bus while you go help John with the search inside. We'll come inside to help you two once we're done."

We split up after that, with Cody heading back inside the building while Randy and I jogged over to the tour buses. The tour bus we were looking for was actually parked on the far end of the long row, so we quickly made a break for it, somehow turning it into a race midway through. I ended up winning, mainly because I wasn't carrying a duffle bag that was weighing me down, unlike Randy, whose duffle bag came unzipped halfway into the run, sending a good amount of his stuff crashing to the ground. I spared myself one look at the Viper quickly picking his stuff up before continuing on my way, and once I got there, my little moment of celebration quickly went south.

"TED!" I exclaim as I run over to the man's side. He was unconscious and sprawled on the ground, bleeding from a small wound on his left temple. An iron pipe about a foot long was lying a couple of feet away from his prone body. "Randy!?"

"I'm here!" he calls in return as he finally makes his way over to us, all of his stuff now back in his bag. As soon as he sees Ted, his face went from exasperated to emotionless. "Are there any other injuries beside the cut on his head?"

"No, I think he was just done in with the hit to the head with that pipe over there," I say as I start applying pressure to the wound. Ted lets out a small moan before becoming silent once again. "He needs some help Ran!"

"I'll go get the trainer. Hopefully I'll find Cody and John along the way," he tells me as he drops his duffle bag beside Ted's feet. "You'll be okay out here?"

"I'll be fine. Just go get the trainer." I tell him as I nod my head toward the arena. He quickly takes the hint and takes one more look at Ted before jogging away. I continue to apply pressure to Ted's wound to stop the bleeding, inwardly cursing out the coward who did this to him, when I suddenly hear the sounds of tires screeching.

"What the. . ?" I mumble to myself as I hear a revved up engine, a sudden feeling of dread just hitting me deep in the pit of my stomach as the sound got louder and louder.

THUMP!

I jumped at the noise, my senses now on high alert as I left Ted to go see what exactly happened. A black SUV with darkly tinted windows zips right past me just as I exited the crevice created by the tour buses on either side of me. I try to get a good look at the car's license plates as it moves onto the street, but unfortunately, I soon realize that the car didn't have any as it disappeared from my view. I let out a few curse words at that before I turn back around to see what happened inside the lot, and when I saw the familiar body slowly moving along the ground about 30 feet away from me, my heart sank.

"RANDY!"

I don't even recognize my own voice as I yelled, my feet moving on my own accord as I rushed past where Ted lay to get to the other man. When I reached him, he was lying face up and clutching his right shoulder. Blood was leaking out from the corner of his mouth, as well as cuts along his scalp, shoulder, and arm, but at least he was still conscious.

"Randy! Randy, are you okay?" I ask, my voice frantic as I hear yelling and the sounds of footsteps running toward us. "Randy, talk to me baby."

"I'll be fine Mara," he tells me, his voice strained as his face winces in obvious pain. "It's just a bit of a strain to speak. That SUV got me on my right side. . . I thought it was looking for a spot, but by the time I figured out what was really going on . . . I couldn't completely move out the way in time."

"Where does it hurt the most?" I ask as I quickly look up to see Cody, John, Brandon, and the head trainer running over to us. A small crowd of wrestlers and other staff members were already gathering outside of the entrance, with Hunter being at the forefront. I also saw Ziggler, and the man actually had the nerve to smirk at the scene before him.

"My shoulder . . . Definitely my shoulder," he tells me as the others finally reach us. "Damn it hurts like hell . . . I think a bone may have broke in my shoulder."

"Considering your issue with shoulder problems over the year, I'm afraid that may very well be a possibility," says the trainer as he began to examine the fallen Viper. When he brought a hand to Randy's right side, Randy let out a sharp yell when the trainer started applying pressure to it. "You may have a couple of cracked ribs as well. They may even be broken."

"Well that's just dandy . . ." Randy manages to grumble with a scowl on his face. I knew exactly what that scowl was for. Randy had only won his title belt just recently, and now he would have to abdicate his position due to his injuries. Once the car hit him, he was no longer champion.

"Wait a minute . . . What about Ted?" asked Brandon as he starts looking around the lot. "Did you guys find him?"

"I'm right here . . ." the now conscious man says as he walks into view. "Some masked person got the jump on me and knocked me out cold with a pipe. . . Damn I feel woozy."

"Take things easy Ted. You may be suffering some concussion-like symptoms due to that hit," says the trainer before turning his attention back on Randy. "As for you Orton, we're going to need to get you a bus."

"I figured as much . . ." says the Viper, still with the scowl on his face. It doesn't lose its harshness until he turns to me, his eyes softening once he sees the expression on my face. "Will you be coming with me?"

"Of course," I say as I let out the deep breath I was holding. "If anything, this just proves that I can't let you out of my sight, so I'll be watching you like you like a hawk from now on Mr. Viper."

To his credit, Randy manages to let out a soft chuckle, which was soon joined by Brandon's own hearty laugh. I feel his other hand start to cover my own, holding on to it in a strong grip as I hear the sounds of sirens blaring in the distance. I couldn't help but look at where that mysterious SUV made its exit, its tire marks dotting the ground feet away from us.

Whoever ran over Randy most likely was the same person that knocked out Ted. A part of me wishes that whoever did this will be caught quickly, but another part of me feels that it's not going to happen like that. That person is out there somewhere, probably waiting for their next opportune moment to strike. Today, we were caught way off guard.

We're not going to make that same mistake twice.

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