Chapter 16: 'Becoming a nuisance'

Trish had dominated her match with Gail Kim, as she threw her across the ring into the turnbuckle. The crowd roared approvingly as she slapped the taste right out of the Korean's mouth.

"Hey, come on Trish, get her out of the corner!" referee Jack Doan ordered her.

She obeyed the instruction and set up to execute the Stratusfaction. She went to apply the headlock, only to be disturbed by the sight of somebody making their way towards the ring. It was not a pretty sight either. She left Gail Kim, to remonstrate from the ropes.

"What the hell do you want?" she bellowed. The man walking down the ramp stopped half way down and slammed a fist into the opposite palm, gritting his teeth in a threatening way.

Trish couldn't help but feel intimidated by his presence and totally forgot about her opponent in the ring. Gail crawled across to her and scooped her up with a schoolboy pinning maneuver. Trish kicked her legs wildly, trying to escape the predicament, but the handful of tights that Gail grabbed served to make it a futile attempt. Jack brought his hand down for the three count, to rob her of the match.

Gail rolled out of the ring immediately, leaving an animated Trish to throw a fit in the ring. She pointed furiously at the man on the ramp, whose response was to snicker at her, before continuing his progress towards the ring. Trish's look of frustration quickly turned to one of fright.

She wanted to escape the ring, but her legs seemed to freeze as he jumped onto the ring apron and through the ropes. He stomped towards her and grabbed a big clump of her blonde hair. She shrieked as he yanked at it, tearing hairs from their roots.

"Please... Don't hurt me Batista..." she pleaded forlornly, sobbing at the thought of her inevitable fate. Jack Doan tried to intervene, but retreated as soon as Batista locked his fearsome gaze in his direction.

Trish eyed an opportunity to land a sneaky blow to his lower extremities, as she thrust her knee forcefully into his groin. Batista grimaced, but was unrelenting with his grip of her. In return for her show of defiance, he used his free hand to slap her across the face.

"You shouldn't have done that bitch!"

He then became distracted as the crowd roared, knowing full well they wouldn't react like that to his actions. He relinquished his hold on Trish and checked out what the reason for the commotion was. His answer came in the form of a boot to the face, laying him out on his feet.

Trish looked on in astonishment as Shawn Michaels stood above the fallen beast, saving her from further torture. The audience went ballistic as Trish walked over and hugged him to thank him for rescuing her. The Heartbreak Kid lifted her arm aloft and led her from the ring, whilst Batista began to groggily drag his frame from the canvas.

Back in the Evolution dressing room, Molly paced back and forth in an agitated fashion. With pouted lips and a furrowed brow, there was no doubt that she was irritated by the outcome of the events out in the arena. Randy was also in the room with her and he noticed that she was less than happy with what had transpired on the monitor in there.

"Come on Molly, at least she didn't win the match." Randy said, hardly helping her mood.

"What? Shut up Randy."

"I was only saying..."

"Yeah, well don't! Just mind your own business will you!" she snapped.

Randy shook his head and went back to reading the magazine he'd found on the floor in the dressing room. Molly caught a glimpse of it and recognized it as being the one she had discarded earlier.

"What on earth are you reading that trash for?!"

She ripped the publication from his grasp and was horrified to see which pages he was looking at. It was turned to the photo shoot article, featuring Trish amongst others. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Fantastic... Not only does that skank escape from my plan, but you are sat here ogling her... Ugh, you make me sick!"

"Huh? I wasn't..." Randy started, but decided to refrain from arguing with her, "Oh, it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter? You're telling me it doesn't matter!"

"Yeah, something like that. How about you mind 'your' own business?" he came back, a smug grin forming on his face. Needless to say, Molly didn't react positively to that.

"Why, you..." She lunged for him and slapped her fists across his toned chest. He flinched at first, but quickly sat back in his seat and let her carry on regardless.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" Hunter burst into the room with Ric and dragged Molly away from Randy.

"Molly's pissed because her little plan to beat Trish up went wrong." Randy reacted with his spin on things. Molly's fixed stare could have burnt a hole in him.

"Molly?" Hunter asked, looking towards her with an inquiring expression. She ignored him and kept her attention focused squarely on Randy.

"I'm on to you Orton." she said coldly.

"Come on people, this is supposed to be a night of celebration!" Ric interjected.

"He's right, let's cut this crap out right now!" Hunter laid down the law, "You guys better get ready for tonight's match, I'm going to get Molly out of here."

Molly reluctantly followed his lead, but couldn't resist one last bite at Randy. "I'm on to you..."

Hunter led her out of the locker room area and towards the parking lot where the Evolution limousine was stationed. The entire journey was conducted in silence, as Molly continued to stew about her altercation with Randy. There was also the confusion in the air about their 'relationship'.

As they reached the vehicle, Hunter broke the silence, "What are you so pissed about? What's the deal with Stratus?"

Molly bowed her head and huffed, she didn't want to talk about it. Hunter coaxed her face up with his index finger, looking for some sort of a clue as to why she was so distressed.

"Come on Molls."

"Well... You must know about our history, right?"

"It's pretty common knowledge, yeah."

"I want her eliminated, she has been a thorn in my side for too long. I thought Dave would get the job done for me tonight... it would have worked, except for Shawn Michaels poking his nose in. Damn him!" she exclaimed.

"Wait a minute... Michaels?" Hunter said, surprised at the revelation. He hadn't seen the events unfold, as he had been busy sorting his own business out.

"Yeah, he came to her rescue."

"That bastard, he doesn't know when to stop does he? Don't you worry about it... 'we' will deal with him and Stratus next week."

Molly suddenly perked up, confident that with Hunter by her side she could swat away the nuisance that was Trish Stratus. The driver of the limo held the door open for Molly to get inside.

"Take Molly back to the penthouse suite, then I want your ass back here." Hunter instructed him harshly, before facing Molly once more, "You go get yourself ready for tonight and I'll catch up with you later, once we are finished here."

"Um, I haven't got anything to wear." she pointed out, thinking practically.

"Sure you have, all your gear is in the penthouse." he replied.

That surprised Molly, as she hadn't roomed with the guys since her stay in hospital prior to Survivor Series. It was becoming more apparent that they were so wrapped up with their own lives, that they didn't have the time to worry about each other and hadn't even noticed her absence. Which made Hunter's sudden interest all the more confusing...