Thank you for all of your kind reviews, they really keep me going! I don't know why but this chapter has been my favourite to write so please be gentle with me if you decide to leave a review. Thanks :)
Monday 28th January
Alexa walked into the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada with one bag slung over her shoulder and another dragging behind her. By her side was her boyfriend, the pair making their way into the arena ready for RAW that night.
''You'll have to talk to them sooner or later.''
Alexa turned to fix Jon with a pointed look. ''Not until they both apologize to me... and mean it.''
Rolling his eyes at her stubbornness, he kept quiet and they continued their pace into the backstage area, following the signs to the adjacent locker rooms. Making sure the hallway was empty, they shared a quick kiss before separating and heading into their designated room.
She had just set down her bags when there was a knock at the door and a production assistant stuck her head inside. ''Miss. Torres, Mr. McMahon would like to have a word with you. He's in his office.''
Alexa nodded and the woman left just as quickly as she arrived.
The walk to Vince's office was only a short one and she knocked sharply on the door, hoping whatever he wanted would be quick so she could grab some food before getting ready for the show.
''Come in!''
She pushed the door open and entered with a smile. ''Hey Vince.''
''Take a seat, take a seat.''
Stepping further into the spacious room, she raised an eyebrow when she found Paul Heyman sitting at the edge of the desk. She took up a seat opposite Vince and looked between the two men curiously. ''So, what's up, boss?''
''We wanted to go over the script for tonight, make sure everybody's happy with it.'' Vince cleared his throat. ''Uh... Phil came to me with some concerns regarding-''
''I swear to God, if you tell me that this whole thing's changed because of his sexist-''
''No.'' Vince held his hands up, quickly cutting her off. ''No, not at all. We're saving that for next week, we have a better idea for tonight.''
''Okay...'' Alexa breathed out slowly.
Vince smirked as Paul leaned forward, a mischievous glint in his eyes. ''How do you feel about dropping a pipebomb of your own?''
''Ziggy, can you do me a favour and put a leash on your crazy little doggy before she pee-pees all over the ring?''
''Hey, watch your mouth!''
''Hey! I think you should leave... before I ruin your little return.''
''Big E. BIG E! BIG E! He's only got an E for a name! What does the E stand for? Your bra size? Because those are some giant pecs, my man, I could put a drink on those things...''
Alexa looked away from the monitor with a snort, her eyes falling on the three members of The Shield. Colby had found her after her meeting with Paul and Vince, offering her a heartfelt apology; the woman hadn't been able to resist the puppy eyes and had quickly forgiven him.
''We should get going.'' Joe suggested, pushing out his hair and standing. ''We're up after this.''
The other three followed his lead and headed out of catering, Colby turning to her with a frown. ''In the script, there's a big blank section after you go down to the ring. What's that all about?''
''Oh, it's nothing, I'm just cutting a promo.''
The group came to a halt just before they reach the gorilla and Alexa threw her arm over her boyfriend's shoulder, pulling him tight to her side. She grinned widely and looked up at him with excitement. ''I am so excited I just peed myself a tiny bit.''
His dimples were in full force as he smiled down at her, the other two men laughing beside them.
''Torres!''
She ducked out from under Jon's arm and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before she moved forward, waving at the trio. ''Well, I'm going to go shake up the Diva's division... see you guys out there!''
Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman were alone in the ring, the former holding a personal performance review of the New Yorker. ''So, Mr. Heyman, let me ask you a question... Have you ever had, or currently have, The Shield and/or Brad Maddox under contract?''
Thousands of jeering voices echoed through the arena as Paul adjusted his tie, before nervously raising the microphone to his lips. ''I want to thank you for this opportunity. To come out here and look you in the eye, and settle this once and for all. Because the answer to your question - and you have every reason in the world to ask me that question - and the answer to that question is no, I have never had anything to do with Brad Maddox, nor The Shield.''
Several members of the WWE Universe were quite vocal in their disbelief of his reply, and Vince appeared to agree.
''Mr. Heyman, let me ask you a question. Have you ever in your life- have you ever lied?''
''You know a long time ago I remember, in the Madison Square Garden dressing room I heard your father say the phrase, 'Adversity defines a man's character in his darkest hour.' And faced with the adversity of the fact that I have a feeling I know where this is going, I will tell you: I have lied every day of my stinking life... because I am a promoter and that's what promoters do. We lie to survive tonight, or simply to get to tomorrow. Whatever answer I've had to give in my life to survive on that particular evening, just so I could wake up the next day alive and with a business, or with a career or with a job; I have lied through my teeth. I have lied swearing to God. I have lied on the souls of my parents and I have lied, lied, lied and I don't regret it because that's what it took for me to survive. But, I will tell you, looking you in the eye right now and knowing that my career is on the line; I swear to you on everything that is holy, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, I've lied every day of my life but I swear to you I am not lying now.''
''So, you're an honorable man?'' Vince questioned dubiously.
''I'm trying to become an honorable man!'' He cried. ''And maybe I can learn from you, in how to be an honorable man. I can't tell you I've been a saint, I've never been a saint in my life. But I- but I want to be here! And if it takes being an honorable man to be here then, damn it, that's what I'll be.''
Vince lifted his hand, holding it in front of Paul's sweaty face. ''Let's get a good look at this honorable face. Can we get a close up, please, of this honorable face?''
The camera slowly zoomed in on the man.
''Is this an honorable face?'' Vince asked the audience.
'NO!'
''Is this an honest man?''
'NO!'
''Mr. Heyman, I want to show you some footage now, and after we show you the footage I'd like to get your comments, if you don't mind. Now chances are, I think you'll recognize it when you see it. Let's roll the footage.''
The titantron showed footage of Paul walking through a backstage area with Brad Maddox, the pair being filmed by Brad's cameraman. Paul told the man to switch his camera off but he carried on recording. It was revealed that Heyman and Punk hired Maddox to screw Ryback at Hell In a Cell. Heyman also revealed that after that plan failed, someone else offered to help, a woman who had complied a team.
The Shield.
Paul revealed that he paid the three men to do jobs for them. Jobs, which unlike the one he gave Brad, actually got done properly. Paul told him to take his beating like a man as The Shield appeared, surrounding him.
The footage cut to Brad's screams among the sounds of fists on flesh.
Before Vince could react to the video they had all just seen, Paul suddenly lifted his microphone, his face contorted in panic as he spoke. ''Mr. McMahon, I can tell you who's responsible for ALL of this! I know I look guilty, and I'll admit, Brad Maddox was down to me, but that's it! I had nothing to do with The Shield! None of that was my idea, none of it! I swear to you, I had no idea what she was doing!''
The noise from the crowd grew louder at his words, everyone in the arena desperate to know who the man was talking about.
''Well then, tell us, who was it?''
''It wa-''
She takes to the spotlight
To the stage
You can tell she craves it by the look on her face
Everyone can't help but stare away
Sierra emerged from behind the stage and a loud cheer arose from the crowd, despite the situation, and the two men in the ring both turned to face the ramp. Vince with a look of confusion and Paul with one of immense relief.
She sauntered down the ramp, a blank look on her face as she climbed the steps to the ring. Ducking through the ropes, she shot Paul a withering glare as she passed him, moving over to grab a microphone from a stagehand.
''Well...'' She drawled, a cocky smirk spreading her lips as she spoke. ''I guess the secret's out, thanks to old Paulie here.''
''You mean to tell me, th- that YOU are responsible for The Shield's actions since their debut?'' Vince asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.
Sierra stepped towards the man, staring him dead in the eye. ''Yes. As much as it kills me to say this, Heyman is telling the truth.''
''The Shield work for you?''
''We work together.''
Vince was flabbergasted. ''Why? Why go to all that effort? You want to ruin the WWE's good name? Is that it?''
''Ruin the WWE's good name?'' Sierra gave a low chuckle. ''Vince, I don't think you need me to accomplish that. You're already half-way there.''
''What?'' He asked, face slowly turning red from anger.
''Well, it's obvious, isn't it? All you care about is money... that's all you've cared about in years. You're all about the 'sports entertainment' nowadays, not the wrestling. They say money is the root of all evil, and it's true.'' She pointed a finger towards her boss. ''All you see is the profit. Nothing else. You ignore all the dedicated, hard-working, talented people in the back and focus all you attention on the ones who bring you the most money. You just proved my point last night when you screwed over CM Punk in favour of a washed-up, has-been like The Rock!''
''Now, wait just a-''
''I'm not finished!'' Sierra shouted, effectively cutting him off. ''Now, story time... When I first came to the WWE, the division was thriving. It was the Golden Era of women's wrestling. We had Trish Stratus, Lita, Ivory, Molly Holly, Victoria, Mickie James, Victoria, Jazz, Gail Kim, Melina... extremely talented women who came out here and tore it up, week after week after week... While I was out with my injury, I was forced to watch as the Diva's division slowly went downhill. All because of you, Vince. You let the majority of the women with real wrestling skills go, and replaced them with women who could be better described as 'bikini models' or 'magazine cover girls'. It became blatantly obvious that the 'Diva's' were chosen purely on the basis of their physical appearance rather than their actual in-ring capabilities. Talented women were continually passed over, time and time again, in favour of all the no-talent airheads who came to play at being a wrestler... How is that fair, Vince!? How is that justice?''
Paul Heyman watched, wide-eyed, as the woman walked casually around the ring, halting just in front of Vince with a sneer.
''And, due to the fact that the women were treated as 'eye-candy' by YOU, they were seen as such by the fans. People stopped caring about the women's matches... the one or two generous minutes that you so kindly gave them for a so-called 'match,' people started using as time to go to the toilet or to go get more beer... everyone lost respect for us. Everyone. Hell, even most of the people backstage did, and I don't blame them. I worked my whole life to get here. I broke my neck in one of YOUR rings and I still came back, because I love wrestling more than anything in the world! And what do I come back to... this bullshit! YOU made us into a complete joke!''
Sierra spat angrily, maintaining eye-contact with Vince, whose face was growing redder by the second. The entire arena was filled with excited chatter from the crowd; most of them not quite believing what they were actually hearing.
''Desmond Tutu once said; 'If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor... Well, I decided that I was sick of being oppressed. I decided it was time for a change. I'm here to prove that a woman can preach, a woman can work, a woman can fight. A woman can build, can rule, can conquer, can destroy, just as much as a man can. I've been teaching all the other Divas a valuable lesson recently... and that lesson, is that I am better than ALL of them. THEY are the problem. They are the INJUSTICE!''
She stepped back, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself before smirking across at the man in front of her.
''After thinking long and hard, I realized that there's only so much I can do... I can only take care of half of the problem in the WWE... When I was down at NXT, I was fortunate enough to meet some like-minded individuals who shared my frustrations. Three, super-talented guys who had been stuck, rotting away down in Florida for far too long. I helped them break free, so they could help me fix this place from all the injustice that plagues it! Vince, you have me to thank! Paul Heyman has ME to thank. CM Punk has ME to thank... the entire WWE Universe has ME to thank for keeping the WWE Championship around the waist of someone who deserved it! We are The Shield... and we are here to SAVE the WWE!''
Her impassioned rant over, she lowered the microphone from her lips and a stunned silence fell over the three in the ring. The audience was beside themselves, a loud chant of 'SIERRA' making its way around the arena, much to Vince's displeasure.
''See, Mr. McMahon! She admits it, it was all her!'' Paul Heyman cried happily. ''I'm completely innocent!''
''Cut the crap, Paul!'' Sierra interrupted, with a roll of her eyes. ''Brad Maddox was ALL you, I had nothing to do with that, you said so yourself. Maybe if that had worked, I wouldn't have had to do any of this.''
''You bitc-''
The crowd let out an 'oooh' as his head was snapped to the side by the force of her slap, an angry red mark already appearing on the side of his face.
''You ar-''
''SHUT UP!'' Vince bellowed, stepping in between them. ''Both of you, shut the hell up, right now! I've heard enough. You've both already sealed your fate! Sierra, Mr. Heyman; you're both fi-''
His dismissal of the pair was cut off, the familiar sound of Brock Lesnar's music ripping through the arena. The fans, forgetting about what was happening inside the ring, went crazy when the big man appeared at the top of the ramp.
The Beast was back.
Vince, Paul and Sierra all watched in shock as the hulking man advanced down the ramp, circling the ring before jumping up onto the apron. His intense gaze remained locked on Vince as he climbed between the ropes and entered the ring; his manager pleading with him to stand down.
Not having any of it, Brock gestured towards the corner, silently commanding for Paul to stay out-of-the-way. Sierra followed his lead, shrinking back int the opposite corner. The big man stepped towards Vince, the two men going toe-to-toe as they stared each other down.
Vince swallowed heavily as he raised the microphone. ''If I were you... I wouldn't do something I would regret later on...''
A smirk spread across Brock's lips as he stepped back, seemingly thinking about the older man's words. Paul stepped forward, trying to reason with his charge. Again, he was relegated to the corner of the ring.
Brock paused for a few more moments before he suddenly sprung into action. He effortlessly picked Vince up, positioning him over his shoulders before dropping him to the mat with a powerful F-5.
Sierra's mouth dropped open in shock as she watched Paul fall to his knees beside Vince, the man clutching his head in his hands as he realized what Brock had just done.
''No, no! Stop! No more! No more!''
Ignoring him, Brock turned his menacing gaze on the women in the corner.
Feeling eyes on her, Sierra slowly looked up, her eyes widening in fear as Brock advanced on her. The fans turned on her in the blink of an eye, cheering excitedly as they awaited her comeuppance.
Not one to back down, Sierra straightened up and fixed him with a defiant look, crossing her arms over her chest. Paul rose to his feet, moving to stand behind Brock, who was shooting an amused look at the woman in front of him.
''Come on Brock, you've done enough, let's go!''
Sierra smirked. ''Yeah, Brock, run along... better do what Paulrus tells you, huh? What are you? His little bitch?!''
Paul let out a long, exasperated sigh and closed his eyes as Brock's jaw clenched angrily. Sierra let out a scream as the man reached out and grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her towards him roughly and he spoke harshly in her ear. She struggled valiantly, but was no match for his brute strength, and was forced to listen to his venomous words.
Paul moved forward, placing a hand on Brock's shoulder as he tried to calm him down. ''Come on, come on, she's just a girl... you really want to do this to a girl?!''
The Beast paused and Sierra, taking advantage of this momentary distraction, reached out to deliver a stinging slap to the side of his face.
Shocked, Brock immediately loosened his grip on her, giving the woman the chance to stumble back, leaning onto the ropes for support. The crowd, sharing Lesnar's feelings, descended into a stunned silence.
Before he could retaliate, three figures suddenly entered the ring, darting protectively in front of her.
The Shield.
The crowd booed as the three men held Brock's furious gaze for several, tense seconds before Paul managed to coax him out of the ring. The image of Brock backing up the ramp, his eyes never leaving the three men inside the ring, was the last thing viewers saw as Raw went off the air.
