Ch. 4.
When they reached the backstage area, they were greeted by Vince and half the WWF roster, who had anxiously been watching the events unfold on the monitors. As soon as the two were out of sight of the crowd and the cameras, Vince moved to meet them, signalling to the waiting paramedics. As they helped Chris Jericho onto the gurney and began wheeling him away, Vince walked beside him.
"Good job, Chris, you managed to keep the situation under control and the crowd didn't catch on." praised Vince, knowing that the injured man had every right to be angry and hoping to smooth things over.
"Lucky for both of us," commented Jericho, his voice unusually cold, "Although I don't think I'M the Chris you should be thanking."
"I just hope you realise, this was an unexpected turn of events which was completely beyond my control ....."
"Meaning you're scared I'm gonna sue, because I could, as you know only too well. Well, you'll be relieved to hear, I won't, you're not worth the hassle."
Vince heaved a deep sigh and watched as Jericho was wheeled away, before turning to Chris Benoit.
"Chris, thanks. I ..... I don't know what else to say." stammered Vince, "I'm sorry this had to happen in your home town, I know you wanted this show to go well. No one is sorrier than me that this happened ....."
"Somehow I doubt Chris would see it quite like that. What were you thinking? What the hell were you THINKING? How could you let that man in the ring, KNOWING that something was wrong? Because you were right about one thing before, he has snapped, the guy's a goddamn PYSCHO!" exclaimed Benoit,
"You'd better not forget just who you're talking to, Chris." warned Vince tersely.
"Oh, I know EXACTLY who I'm talking to." snapped Benoit in return. "Who knows how long this has been going on for? Who knows how long this has been building up, just waiting for something to push him over the edge? Chris is pretty beat up as it is, but what if this had happened when someone else was in the ring? What about when he was supposed to "attack" Amy, suppose he really had?"
At this, a murmur of agreement ran through the group of listening wrestlers and Amy turned slightly pale as she thought back to the "confrontation" between herself and the Hardys and Austin and Triple H. Realising what she must be thinking, her on and off-screen boyfriend, Matt Hardy, wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders, before turning to Vince.
"You know, Chris is right! You've been putting us all in danger just by letting that guy be here; it can't go on." he insisted, anger creeping into his usually soft Southern accent.
"Matt, I realise how distressing this is, for all of us, but I assure you I will NOT let this happen again. Security are going to take Steve straight to the hospital and we're going to get him some professional help, it's obvious there's a deeper problem at the bottom of this and it will be sorted out. In the meantime, the show must go on. I'm sorry, but those people out there have paid good money to see you all at your best, I WON'T have them go away disappointed. I have, however, decided that tomorrow everyone takes a complete break, no training, nothing work related; PROVIDED the rest of tonight goes smoothly." said Vince, back in control, "Now, any complaints, feel free to come see me in my office."
Vince paused and looked around, as if challenging anyone to argue with him, but safe in the knowledge that they didn't dare in case their job ended up on the line. He noted the obvious hostility in the air, but dismissed it as he searched for someone who was ready to go out to the ring.
"Sean," he said finally, noticing that he was already dressed in his red and black "X-Pac" outfit, "Can you find, uh, let me see ..... Steve Blackman? The two of you can go out to the ring and put on a match so the crowd doesn't get too restless. Make it a bit of a martial arts display, something to really get them going, okay?"
"Sure thing; but if I see any signs Blackman's gonna go mad, I ain't sticking around." said Sean, walking casually away after his parting shot, tying his bandanna around his head as he went.
"Right, everyone." said Vince, pretending not to have heard him, "Back to business as usual, thank you. Chris, you can tell the other Chris what's happening and that as soon as he's done with the EMTs, he can go back to the hotel. In fact, you can go too; Stephanie and Paul aren't here yet, so I'll just ring and tell them not to come at all. Without Steve, your storylines which were planned for tonight are postponed."
"Can't say I'm not relieved." said Benoit, "I'll go now and see how Chris is doing then - tell him the good news."
"If you need a lift back to the hotel ....."
"It's all right, Vince, I've got my rental car." said Benoit, "Wouldn't want to put you to any trouble."
"Well, then, I guess I'll talk to you later." said Vince, a little uncomfortably.
"Yeah, later."
*****
In the area reserved for the medical team, Chris Jericho was receiving treatment when there came a knock at the door and Chris Benoit looked in.
"Hey, how are the ribs?" asked Benoit.
"Sore, but these guys have given me something to help, so if I get some rest, I shouldn't be too stiff tomorrow."
"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?"
Jericho groaned loudly, "Wait, don't tell me ..... Vince saw my performance, decided I need more practise and is putting me in a handicapped match tonight against Kane and the Undertaker?"
"How did you guess?" asked Benoit with a straight face, before starting to laugh as Jericho's eyes widened in horror, "Calm down, I'm kidding!"
"Twice in one day! Is everyone trying to kill me?" grinned Jericho.
"Always said you bring out the worst in people."
"Hey!" complained Jericho, pretending to be hurt, "I'm injured, you're meant to give me, you know, sympathy."
"Never heard of it." retorted Benoit, "Anyway, you can't be that bad, you're still talking."
"You really know how to cheer a guy up, Chris. So, what is the news then?"
"Bad news is ..... Vince has decided it's business as usual, good news is ..... that doesn't apply to us. As soon as you're done here, we can head back to the hotel." explained Benoit.
"Excellent! Nice to see Vince hasn't COMPLETELY disappeared down the road to Loonyland along with Austin just yet."
"I'll go change and then get the car and bring it round the back; get these guys to give you a hand outside, okay?"
"Sure." said Jericho, as his friend turned to go, "Chris, hang on a minute! Look, seriously, I just wanna thank you for coming out and saving my ass. I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd stayed the hell away, everyone else did. Thanks, man, I owe you one."
Benoit looked at him and grinned, "I just might hold you to that! You should have known I couldn't let you get your ass kicked, I plan on holding on to those title belts and I can't do that with you playing the crippled martyr! And anyway, if I hadn't turned up, someone else would have helped out. The only reason it took so long was Vince's panicking about how it would look to the audience, he wanted to try to stick roughly to the scripts. Under the pressure he was getting from the rest of the roster, he'd have cracked soon."
"That might not have been the only cracking going on, but thanks." smiled Jericho, "I guess I just felt kinda deserted for a bit, it seemed to last forever out there. Where's Austin now?"
"Security were escorting him to hospital, he's going to get professional help. I don't think we'll have to worry about him turning up any time soon."
"Good! Although, if you ask me, it's an exorcist, not a psychiatrist, the guy needs!"
Benoit laughed and nodded, "You could be right! Anyway, I'll meet you at the car."
"You bet."
As soon as the medical team were satisfied that Jericho's injuries were not too serious, they allowed him to leave, helping him out to the back where Benoit was waiting in his black rented car. Before they could get away, however, they were stopped by Vince, who motioned to Benoit to wind down his window. A little reluctantly, Benoit complied and looked impatiently at Vince.
"What?" he asked shortly.
"Sorry to keep you, but I haven't been able to contact Stephanie and Paul. They might already be on their way, but if you see them at the hotel, could you tell them not to come and explain the situation to them?"
"If I see them, I'll tell them." said Benoit.
"Thank you." said Vince, leaning into the car to speak to Jericho, "I hope you're better tomorrow."
"Thanks." said Jericho dryly, "Come on, Chris, put your foot down and get us out of here."
*****