Chapter 15: 'Twists and turns'
The ring was lined with red carpet and gold balloons littered the scene, as Evolution occupied it. All four men were modeling the highest quality Armani suits, sporting their expensive Rolex watches and jewelery, whilst generally looking like a million bucks. Hunter stood front and centre, the glistening Heavyweight Championship belt draped magnificently on his shoulder. He was ready to address the world that he was sitting atop of.
Molly watched the action unfold on the monitor in the dressing room. She wanted to be out there with them, but Bischoff had insisted that she stay off the camera for one week; the public reaction to her crucifixion of Victoria was unsavoury to say the least. This was evidenced by an abundance of signs in the crowd highlighting the ill feeling; 'Molly Evil-ution' was one that particularly stood out.
As Hunter began his acceptance speech, she was surprised to hear her name mentioned. "Some of you may be wondering where our jewel in the crown is tonight... Quite frankly it's none of your business, but for the record... Molly has taken the night off tonight." The crowd reacted angrily to the mention of her name.
Ignoring that, she was flattered to be referred to as the 'jewel in the crown'; nobody had ever held her in that regard. She had now totally disregarded the notion that Hunter had plotted against her in setting up the Hell in the Cell match, she was sold on the idea that she was an integral part of the team. 'The kiss' had done much to solidify her feelings, despite the fact she had no idea what Hunter's motives were for carrying it out.
No sooner was she straightening things out in her head, when something else would come along to mix them up. That was the emerging theme from being involved with Evolution; it was all about life in the fast lane and keeping up was a struggle.
She managed to rip her loving gaze away from Hunter for long enough to notice the cold actions of one of the men in the ring with him. Randy Orton. He didn't look thrilled to be part of proceedings, as Molly kept her eye on him for a minute. She got the impression that his mind was ticking over, plotting away. It was like a sixth sense; she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but had seen similar things in the past from her older cousin Bob. They didn't have to say a word, the look in their eyes said more than enough.
Hunter continued oblivious to the fact there was obvious dissention in the ranks. "You all saw what she did to that piece of trash last night... Let that serve as warning to everyone what Evolution is all about. We're not gonna take any crap from anyone, any more. That goes for everyone in the back... And each and every one of you chumps in this arena." He didn't endear himself to the audience, who collectively howled in derision towards his arrogant declaration.
"I mean, look at you all. You all sit there and shake your fists and whine like babies, because you cannot face up to the reality of it all... You know you cannot compete with 'us'. You know you are not in our 'league'... A bit like Chris Benoit... He is not in 'my' league, he knows it and all of you know it!"
Chants of 'asshole... asshole...' didn't necessarily indicate that the crowd agreed with his belief. Hunter didn't become riled, he loved being hated and they were playing right into his hands.
"Hide behind the truth all you like, the simple facts of the matter are there in black and white... Molly is still 'your' Women's Champion... And now I stand before you as 'your' World... Heavyweight... Champion!" he declared, holding the prized belt aloft above his head. Ric and Dave enthusiastically put their hands together to celebrate the perceived brilliance of their leader. Randy was more reserved with his applause, as he resented the man stood in front of him.
Back in the dressing room, Molly looked down at her end of the bargain... The Women's Championship. There were few better sights than seeing her name etched into the gold nameplate, which served to remind her of how precious the title was to her. She wasn't the only one to covet it...
"You've got a nerve."
The flame haired Lita stood at the entrance to the room. Lita was one of the last people Molly really wanted to have a conversation with, as they had never seen eye to eye.
"Did Trash send you along?" Molly replied in a snide tone. Lita didn't ask permission to enter the room, striding in with purpose and forcing Molly to spring up to her feet. The two stood toe to toe for a moment, in a tense stand off.
"Trish? Who the hell is she?" was Lita's response. Molly was confused, as she assumed they got along well with each other.
"Had a falling out have we?"
"Let's cut the crap Molly," Lita began, ignoring her line of inquiry, "I'm here because of what you did last night, Vicky happens to be one of my best friends and I'm not going to stand back and let you get away with the stunt you pulled last night!"
"Stunt? What stunt would that be?" Molly found herself adopting a smarmy attitude, akin to what she was up against with Trish earlier that day. Fighting fire with fire was never a good idea against Trish, but where Lita was concerned it was an affective tactic.
"Just keep it up Molly... It will be a pleasure to relieve you of that title and avenge your spineless attack on Vicky." Lita spat, furious at Molly's temerity.
"Ha, you are going to relieve me of the title! Let me see, when did you win it last?"
As Molly laughed at her own comments, Lita found herself raising a fist to throw a punch. Before she could, she felt her wrist being grabbed by someone from behind, a tight grip that forced her to yelp in pain.
"Is she bothering you Molly?" it was Batista, making his presence felt. Lita tried to fight back, but Dave brushed off her puny attempt to land a punch on him. He proceeded to drag her across the dressing room, as she screamed blue murder at him.
"Get your punk ass out of here!" he yelled, literally throwing her out into the corridor. He slammed the door and turned his attentions back to a relatively unflustered Molly.
"Good job I'm around hey?" he pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"I had the situation under control... But I appreciate your help anyway." Molly said with a smile. Without any contemplation, she headed over to him and gave him a big hug, startling him somewhat. To her, it was purely a platonic gesture, but he was not so sure.
"What's this for?" he quizzed her.
"Just in case you don't believe me, when I say I appreciate it." she replied.
"Okay... I believe you." he said, as they broke away from each other.
"Does this mean I have used up all my favours for today?"
"No way... Like I said earlier, I've got your back tonight... And any other night for that matter."
Molly liked the sound of that and had something in mind that she needed assistance with. She leant in and whispered her wishes into his ear, which he considered and agreed to with a simple nod.
"Sure thing." he said, making Molly's eyes light up. She felt like things were looking up for her at long last.
"Where are the other guys?" she inquired, as she noticed they were not present.
"Did you not see what just went down?" Dave answered, Molly shaking her head in bewilderment, "Benoit, Jericho and Edge thought it would be a good idea to gatecrash our party. Man, those guys irritate me!" Molly could see him shaking with anger, simply at the thought of those men.
"So where are they now?"
"They've gone to chew Bischoff's ear about it, no doubt we will get a chance to kick their asses later tonight. After I attend to your needs of course."
"Dave!" Molly replied sharply, fluttering her eyelashes innocently. Dave's face turned a bright shade of red, as he realized what he had just said.
"Erm, I didn't mean... Uh, I don't know... Women." he sighed.
Molly was amused by his troubled reaction, but quickly sought to appease him. "I'm only kidding Dave, I know you are an honourable guy." she said sincerely, with real feeling.
"Yeah... I..." he hesitated, seemingly unsure of how to reply to her words. Molly noticed that he'd backed off and seemed to have gone into his shell all of a sudden.
"Listen Molly, I'm... Um, going to go and check up on the guys. Will you be okay on your own?" he said hurriedly.
"I guess."
"I'll catch up with you... Speak... Oh, you know. Later." he spluttered, before leaving the room in a rush.
Molly was perplexed by his bizarre behaviour, she couldn't make head or tail of it. It was as if she had said something to offend him. A strange night was getting stranger with each passing minute.