Hunter and Ric burst into Bischoff's office. Bischoff looked up in surprise at the commotion. "What do you two want?"

Hunter wasted no time. "What the hell was all that last week? Shawn Michaels runs in on MY match? I lost because of him. I'm tired of him sticking his nose in my business."

Bischoff opened his mouth to say something, but was promptly cut off by Hunter.

"And another thing, you've been treating me like a piece of crap Bischoff. Putting me in a match with five other guys to defend MY title? What the hell is wrong with you?"

An ingratiating smile appeared on Bischoff's mouth. "But Triple H, if you weren't that damn good, and I know you are, I wouldn't have made that Elimination Chamber match. You're the best in the business and I don't expect any less of you than to be the best."

Hunter hoisted his title up over his shoulder and leaned closer to Bischoff. "Either you're screwing with me, or someone else is influencing you." Hunter looked at Ric, who put a tape into the VCR.

The tape showed Bischoff's surprise appearance on SmackDown! He had put on a Vince McMahon mask to fool Stephanie, but ended up taking it off and laying a huge kiss on her; Ric paused the tape there.

Hunter looked Bischoff straight in the eyes. "I put on a mask to screw a mannequin, but you put a Vince mask on to screw my ex-wife. Now who's screwing who?"

Hunter and Ric abruptly left the office, slamming the door shut behind them. Bischoff said nothing as he glanced from the door to the television screen.

The two men walked back to Hunter's dressing room, discussing something quietly between themselves. As they continued down the hallway, Dave Batista was coming towards them from the opposite end. Ric looked at Hunter and Hunter nodded and as Batista drew even with them, Hunter kept walking as Ric stopped the other man.

"Hey big guy, can I talk to you a minute?" Ric asked.

When Batista nodded, Ric smiled. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more private."

*****************************

Evie rounded the corner to catering when she ran into someone. Looking up she winced inwardly.

"Well hello Red. Fancy meeting you here," Jericho said in a smarmy tone.

"Excuse me," Evie said as she tried to push past him.

Jericho reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "What's your hurry?"

She glanced down at his hand and then at his face. Her eyebrow lifted as she saw the grin on his lips. "You might want to remove that hand before I do."

"You know I can't help myself Red. Like I said before, I can touch you in ways you could only dream of."

She smirked. "I seriously doubt that," she responded as she pushed his hand off her shoulder. "Why don't you go see if Trish wants that "Vitamin C" injection?"

"But you're the one I wanna give it to Red." He leaned down so that his face was mere inches from hers. "You know you want it. C'mon admit it."

"I know what I want Jericho and it sure as hell isn't you." Evie pushed past him and walked into the catering area.

Jericho watched her for a couple of minutes, then walked away, still grinning.

Evie picked up Hunter's water and some coffee for Ric. As she left and walked past the parking area, someone else approached her. She smiled when she realized who it was.

"Hi Shawn."

Shawn was sporting a huge grin as he stopped in front of her. "Hello yourself doll. What's shakin'?"

"Not much. What are you doing here?"

Shawn lowered his eyes as he scuffed his shoe against the cement floor. "I told you I was gonna make that man's life miserable, didn't I?"

Evie chuckled. "So you said. And I'm assuming you're going to make him miserable tonight?"

He looked at her, a glint of deviltry in his eyes. "Doll, I'm gonna piss him off tonight. You might wanna steer clear of him later if you can."

"Duly noted and filed. I have to get back," she said as she held up what she was carrying.

"Sure thing. I'll see you around," Shawn said as she walked off.

Evie walked into the dressing room to find Ric speaking with another wrestler. She didn't see Hunter anywhere, which was fine by her. She set Hunter's water down on the table and walked over to Ric. "Excuse me, here's your coffee Ric."

Ric took the cup from her. "Thanks Evie, I appreciate that." He looked from her to the other man and back again. "Evie, have you met Dave Batista?"

"No I haven't." She looked the other man over. He was about the same height as Hunter, but with short dark hair. He sported a few tattoos and the bulging muscles associated with wrestlers. "Nice to meet you," she said as she held out her hand.

His dark eyes smoldered with a quiet intensity. He engulfed her small hand in his large one and gave it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you too," he replied in a gravelly voice and then let go of her hand

Ric laid his hand on Evie's shoulder. "Have you seen Hunter around?"

She looked at Ric. "No. Not recently."

Ric dropped his hand. "Have you seen Shawn Michaels around at all?"

"Briefly. I saw him near the parking lot when I was coming back. Why?"

Ric said nothing in response. He turned back to Batista. "Thanks for your time big guy. We'll talk again soon."

Batista took the hint and left without a word. Once the door closed behind him, Ric took a sip of his coffee and looked at Evie. "You say he's here then?"

"Yeah."

"Did he say anything to you at all?" Ric asked casually.

Evie shook her head. "Not a thing," she lied, crossing her fingers behind her back.

Ric looked thoughtful as he took another swallow of coffee. "You're sure?"

Evie chuckled. "Pretty sure Ric. I don't think he noticed me at all."

"Okay. I just want to make sure he's not trying to get to Hunter through you. All though, I can't quite see him abducting you or anything like that. He's a pretty smooth talker and has other ways of making people do things he wants."

Sounds familiar, she thought. "I'll keep that in mind Ric."

Ric sat down on the sofa. "Why don't you join me?" he said as he patted the space next to him.

Evie wondered what he was up to. Ever since Hunter had spoken with Ric in the hotel lobby, Ric had intensified his efforts to get to know her. She had been polite to him, as she would anyone else she worked with. Except Hunter. Now she was starting to wonder if Ric had an ulterior motive.

"Um, okay," she said as she sat down in the space he had indicated. She adjusted her position, putting at least a foot of space between them. "What's going on?"

He leaned forward so his elbows were resting on his knees. He cradled the coffee cup between his hands. "I've been wanting to ask you about something that's been bothering me."

She became a bit wary. This sounded serious. "What's that?' she asked in a normal tone.

Before he could ask her, the door opened and Hunter came in. "Hey Ric, Michaels is here..." he trailed off as he saw the two of them sitting on the sofa together. His eyes sparked with anger. "What's going on?" he asked tightly.

Ric plastered a grin on his face. "Nothing champ. Just asking Evie what she thinks about Batista."

Hunter looked at Evie for confirmation. He didn't believe Ric. Ever since they had words in that hotel lobby, it seemed like Ric had doubled his efforts to talk to Evie about anything at all.

Evie thought fast. It was obvious that Hunter wasn't buying it. She spoke up. "I don't know why he's asking me. I mean, I'm not exactly the person to ask. I have no training or experience, so I'm not sure what type of reaction he's looking for."

Ric looked at her. "I mean from an outside of the business point of view. Does he look like someone who would fit in with us?"

"With you and Hunter?" When Ric nodded, she continued. "Yeah he looks like he would."

Hunter eyeballed Ric again. "Is that all?"

Ric shrugged. "Yeah that's it." He laughed. "Geez champ, don't be so damn paranoid."

Hunter dropped his title belt onto a chair. "Sorry. I've got a lot on my mind right now." He still didn't quite believe Ric, but then again, why would Evie cover up for him?

"Speaking of which, isn't it about time to go to the ring?" Ric asked as he stood up.

"Yeah I guess. Just gimme a minute or two," Hunter responded as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Evie rose from the sofa and went to dig her laptop out of her bag. As she passed Ric, he mouthed a silent thank you. She simply smiled as she pulled the computer out and began setting it up.

As soon as Hunter came out of the bathroom, he and Ric headed out to the ring, closing the door behind them.

Evie wondered what Ric had been going to ask her before Hunter had come in. Oh hell, I hope he wasn't planning to ask me out to dinner or anything, she thought. Wouldn't that be a kicker?

She chuckled at that thought as she proceeded to work on her computer. And what was with Hunter? He obviously didn't look to pleased at finding her and Ric sitting together. In fact, any time she and Ric spoke, he wore a look of disapproval on his face. She shrugged her shoulders. What difference did it make? He had no say whatsoever on whom she could and couldn't speak to.

But it did seem like there was something going on beneath the surface. Something she couldn't quite put a finger on. She pushed the nagging thought away for the moment and concentrated on her work.

********************

Hunter stood in the ring, calling out Shawn Michaels. "Shawn, I'm tired of these games you've been playing, so why don't you come on out."

He waited for a couple of minutes, but Shawn never showed up. "I know you're here. But since you're not gonna come on out here, I'm just gonna go ahead and warn you."

"Don't accept that invitation for the Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series because your body can't take it anymore. It can't take the pain, the poundings and the night after night abuse. I'll save you the trouble of showing up Shawn because I'm going to walk into that pay-per-view as the champion and walk out the champion."

Before he could get another word out, Booker T appeared. "Tell me you didn't just say that!" He stood at the top of the ramp. "You can fight with good old HBK later, but right now, you have to deal with me. The five time, five time, five time, five time, five time WCW champion."

Hunter shook his head. "Hey Booker, that was then, this is now.  You can't even hold my jock. Let alone sniff it."

Booker T came down the ramp and into the ring, getting right in Hunter's face. "Don't hate the player, hate the Game." He paused a second and then- "Sucka!"

Hunter and Booker stood eye to eye, staring each other down. Jericho's music started up and he came out. Booker broke eye contact with Hunter and faced Jericho.

"You know Booker, I'm sick of you saying "Sucker" and I'm sick and tired of being called a "Sucker". I personally guarantee that I will eliminate you from the Elimination Chamber."

With that, Jericho dropped his mic and ran down to the ring and attacked Booker T. Hunter dropped his title on the canvas and tossed Booker into a corner, where he and Jericho double teamed Booker, throwing punches and kicks.

All of a sudden, Kane came running out to help. As soon as Hunter and Jericho saw him, they slid out of the ring and hurried up the ramp.

Once they were backstage, Hunter turned to Jericho. "Nice job Jericho. Now I gotta worry about Booker T, Kane and HBK."

"Yeah well you're welcome," Jericho said sarcastically as he tried to catch his breath.

Before Hunter could retort, Bischoff showed up and informed them both that they would be teaming up against Kane and Booker T later in the show.

The two men groaned in disgust and Hunter threatened Bischoff, but Bischoff only walked away, wearing a smarmy grin on his face.

Jericho shot Hunter a murderous look and walked off.

Hunter swore vehemently and headed back to his dressing room.

******************

"I'm tired of this crap!" Hunter bellowed. "Now not only do I have to worry about HBK, I still have Kane hangin' around and now Booker T."

Ric patted Hunter's shoulder reassuringly. "Look champ, you can handle it. You know how I know that? Because you're The Game. You're the World Heavyweight Champion. Not those other guys. What are they? Nothing."

Hunter calmed down. "You're right Ric. They all want a piece of me so they can claim they beat the best in the business. Well you know what? Its not gonna happen." He glanced over at Evie and saw she was tapping away on her computer. He lowered his voice and continued speaking with Ric. "So did you talk to him?"

Ric nodded. "Just a little. I didn't bring up what we had discussed.  I just wanted to feel him out and see if he has the attitude."

"And?" Hunter prompted.

"It looks good. He seems to be open to things," Ric answered.

Hunter picked up his bag. "So something around here might just work out then."

"You never know champ. It just might."

Hunter unzipped his bag and started pulling out his gear. "Hey Evie, time for you to scram."

Evie rolled her eyes as she closed down her laptop. "Yeah okay." She picked up her cell phone as she stood up. "You two need anything?"

Both men shook their heads. Hunter continued taking his things out of his bag, but Ric walked over to the door and opened it for her.

"We shouldn't be too long," he said with a smile.

"Thanks Ric," Evie responded as she walked past him.

As Ric closed the door, Hunter spoke up. "You're not gonna do what I asked, are you?"

"Look champ, it's like I said. Until you give me a good reason why, I'll keep talking to her." A sly look crossed his face as he turned to Hunter. "Besides, she may come in handy one of these days."

Hunter definitely didn't like that last remark. Both Ric and Bischoff had warned him that people could use Evie against him. Now it seemed Ric was talking about using her against other people. It would only make things worse. Again, he contemplated firing her, but brushed the thought aside as he started to change. He wanted to know what Ric had in mind.

"What are you talking about Ric?" he growled.

Ric fiddled with his cell phone as he answered. "She could be useful in persuading certain people to do things. Hell, she's pretty easy on the eyes and has a great pair of legs. What man could say no?" He deposited his phone in his jacket pocket. "She can probably get into places, rooms, things and it wouldn't look as strange if one of us did it. She's a personal assistant after all and does things we wouldn't normally do. Interacts with people we wouldn't."

He definitely didn't like this one bit, but instead of telling Ric that, he played along. "Weren't you the one telling me I needed to get rid of her?" Hunter scoffed.

"Yeah well, after talking to her for a bit, I changed my mind. She can still be a liability, but she'd be more useful to us than she would anyone else."

Hunter sat down as he laced up one of his boots. "She'd never go for it Ric. She's not the type of person who asks how high when you say jump. It's not in her nature."

"You can't tell me there's not a mean streak running through her. All it takes is something to bring it out. Look what happened with Jericho."

Hunter started on the other boot. "Only because he physically provoked her. She doesn't go looking for fights Ric. Or revenge."

Ric became thoughtful. "Hm. We can change that though."

"No," Hunter cut him off. "It's not worth it Ric. She wouldn't do it anyway."

Ric acquiesced. "All right, but it's still something to think about."

Hunter silently swore to himself. He had been wondering why Ric had developed such an interest in Evie. Now he had his answer. Or part of it. He was determined not to let it happen if he could. He definitely would have to keep a closer eye on Ric now.

"All right, let's get going so I can kick some ass and get this over with," Hunter said as he stood up.

************************


Hunter and Jericho had the advantage at the start of the match. Jericho started out with Booker T and quickly tagged Hunter in. They went back and forth for a few minutes before Booker managed to tag Kane in. Kane immediately threw Hunter into the corner and went to the opposite corner and gave Jericho a boot to the face as Jericho was climbing into the ring to assist Hunter. Jericho tried to fight back, but Kane picked him up by the neck and dropped him in the ring. He hammered on Jericho in the corner while Hunter and Booker T went at each other. The ref tried to break up all four men to no avail. Jericho rolled out of the ring and picked up a steel chair, which he used to hit Kane across the knee with. As Jericho tossed the chair out of the ring, Hunter worked on Kane's knee. Finally the ref was able to restore order and ordered Jericho and Booker T back to their corners. Hunter stomped on Kane's knee, then tagged Jericho in.

Jericho took up where Hunter left off. He twisted Kane's leg, causing further pain to the already injured knee. After a couple more minutes, Jericho tagged Hunter in. Hunter applied a figure four leg lock on Kane and then tagged Jericho in again. Kane somehow managed to get to his feet and gave Jericho a sidewalk slam. Kane tossed Jericho around for a few more seconds before Jericho managed to tag Hunter. Jericho and Hunter tried to double team Kane, but Kane delivered a double arm suplex to them both.

Kane tagged Booker T in and Booker went to work. He rolled up Hunter for the count but Hunter managed to kick out. Jericho climbed back in to help Hunter and Booker T knocked him down. Ric Flair climbed up on the apron, but Booker T knocked him off onto the floor. Booker T gave the crowd a Spin-a-roonie and then got up in time to give a double clothesline to Jericho and Hunter, who had come rushing at him. As Hunter stood up, Booker T delivered a scissors kick to him and then rolled him up for the count again.

Jericho interrupted the count and set Booker T up in the Walls of Jericho. Kane saw what was going on and quickly broke the hold up. Jericho somehow managed to trip Kane, sending him to the outside. While the two men battled on the outside of the ring, Booker T scored a side kick on Hunter. While Hunter was lying on the mat, Booker T climbed to the top rope and then jumped, but missed the mark when Hunter rolled out of the way.

Hunter picked Booker T up off the mat to give him a Pedigree when Shawn came running out and delivered a super kick to Hunter. Booker T quickly took advantage of the situation and rolled Hunter up, pinning him for the win.

Shawn walked back up the entrance ramp and picked up a mic. "Hey Hunter, I got an answer to Bischoff's invitation for the Elimination Chamber. I accept!" he dropped the mic and walked backstage.

*****************

Hunter was in an extremely bad mood after the match. He didn't yell or throw things around; it was a cold quiet anger. Evie steered clear of him as much as she possibly could, and preferred to have little or no interaction with him. Of course Hunter blamed Shawn for the outcome of the match and it made him even more determined to come out of the pay-per-view the champion.

He silently fumed in the limo as they were driven back to the hotel. It didn't even faze him that Ric and Evie were talking quietly with one another. He stared out the window, trying to figure out the best way to get back at Shawn. He was so engrossed with his plans that he jumped when Evie touched him on the shoulder.

"Hunter? We're here," she said softly.

Hunter looked at her and then out the door that the driver had just opened. The hotel. He noticed that Ric had already gotten out. He shook his head and climbed out of the car. Once the three of them had reached their floor, Evie said goodnight to both of them and walked to her room. Hunter mumbled something to Ric and started off to his own room, but was stopped when Ric laid a hand on his arm.

"Don't wanna go out tonight champ?" Ric asked.

Hunter shook his head. "Not in the mood Ric. I just wanna get some sleep."

Ric sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll turn in as well." He headed towards is room and Hunter watched as Ric opened the door and walked in.

Once Ric's door had shut, Hunter pulled the keycard to his own room out. He looked down at it as he turned it over in his hand. He hadn't lied to Ric. He didn't want to go out. Not because he was tired, but because he didn't want to be around the women that he knew Ric would invite along. He didn't exactly feel like playing Mr. Charming tonight. He swiped the key through the lock and walked in when the lock beeped.

He tossed his things down and sat on the edge of the bed. His thoughts went back to what Ric had said to him earlier tonight about Evie. About using her. He could understand Ric's point of view; she would be an asset in that area, but he didn't like it. Not to mention the fact that Evie would probably tell Ric to take a flying leap off a tall building if Ric ever said anything to her about what he had in mind.

He laid back on the mattress and flung an arm over his eyes. Evie. There was another problem. He knew he should let her go before any of Ric's plans came to fruition, but he still couldn't do it. He kept telling himself that he was doing her a favour by letting her keep her job. Deep down inside he knew it was so he could keep her close by. Even though he denied he was in love with her, even though he had treated her horribly in Vegas, he still couldn't let her go. Of course if she quit, then he had no choice.

The more he thought about her, the more he wanted to go to her room, knock on the door and ask if he could talk to her. But she'll probably tell me to get lost, he thought. And who could blame her? I would too if I were her.

The nagging little voice piped up. But you're The Game. You don't need distractions. You don't need the hassle of having a relationship with someone. It would only work against you. Or so you keep telling yourself.

No, that's what I keep trying to convince myself of, but it's not working very well, he answered.

Because she was right. You are a big dumb jerk. And if you're willing to let a woman like that walk away, then you're a bigger, dumber jerk than she thought.

Hunter groaned inwardly. Don't remind me.

Why not? It's true. You love the woman, but you're too damn stubborn to admit it to her.

After Stephanie... he started to think.

Oh no! You can't blame this on any past events. Deep down you know the truth. You're just scared to admit it, even to yourself. So don't start up that Stephanie crap!

Hunter rolled over. It was true. He really couldn't blame this on his past relationship with Stephanie. He had no one to blame but himself. It had been his decision to go forward with Evie. Well, as forward as he was willing to go, then he had gotten cold feet. And it had been his decision to screw things up with her too.

He remembered the look on her face when he had accused her of sleeping with him for money. It had made him feel so disgusted with himself, but he had already said the damaging words. Now it made him sad that he had even intimated that at all. He had told her the relationship wasn't serious between them. And in his eyes it wasn't. He had never told her that he was in love with her. But instead of telling her, when she came in with Bradshaw, he turned around and called her a whore.

Bradshaw, he thought bitterly. If she hadn't slept with him, this might never have happened.

Uh-uh, said the voice again. How do you know she actually slept with him? Do you have concrete evidence?

He was in her room in the morning wearing nothing but boxers. What am I supposed to think? That they were just talking?

You don't know that. You never asked. You just assumed. And besides, what about you and those two ladies in the shower? You think she's gonna forget something like that?

Hunter growled as he stood up. Don't remind me. That was a big mistake.

Maybe you should go talk to her. You never know what might happen. She could be forgiving.

Yeah right! Hunter snorted. I'm gonna go over there, knock on the door and ask for her forgiveness and she's just going to give it to me? I don't think so!

Is it because you're afraid that she won't, or are you afraid you'd have to admit you were wrong?

Hunter contemplated that for a minute or two. Both, he finally admitted.

The voice was silent. It wasn't just the fear, it was his pride. He didn't want to admit he had been wrong. It would mean he was weak when it came to her. And he was. His feelings for her made him vulnerable. This woman could reduce him to his knees and the thought frightened him. It gave her power over him.

He knew firsthand women who used men for their own purposes. Stephanie had been the main one. It had started out with them using one another, but as their relationship progressed, it ended up with her using him. Hunter didn't think Evie would act that way. She didn't seem capable of it.

Evie. His body clenched at the thought of her and he groaned. Quickly he stood up and stripped off his clothes and jumped into a cold shower.

That was the other reason why he didn't want to go out tonight. Those other women did nothing more than satisfy him physically. They never satisfied him emotionally. If anything, they deadened the pain he had been feeling since Vegas.

He finished his shower and toweled off. Tossing the towel on the sink, he switched the lights off in the bathroom and his room and got into bed.

Tomorrow. Maybe I'll talk to her tomorrow. Maybe not. We'll see, he thought as he pulled the sheet up over himself.

Don't put it off too long. She might be gone before you make up your mind, said the voice before he closed his eyes.

He fervently hoped she wouldn't leave before he had a chance to say anything.

***********************

A/N: A thousand thank yous for all the reviews! Sorry for the long delay! As Halloween is approaching, I got a little to into working on my costumes and I forgot to post. Hopefully it won't happen again, but forgive me if it does. Slan!