Chapter 8

Treats…And Tricks

The Halloween edition of Smackdown kicked off with Marc Loyd interviewing Brock about the attack on himself and Melanie from the Big Show. Brock stared into the camera lenses as if he were talking to Big Show face to face.

"Listen Show, I'm ready to face you at Survivor Series. I'm not too hard to find. After all, you found me Sherlock." Brock said bravely. Not too long after that, Big Show entered the room. Heyman tried to head off a hostile situation while Melanie watched. Brock shoved him aside. He got in Show's face and did the talking.

"You want a shot at my title? You got it. I admit you are a giant… a giant piece of shit. But next time you wanna start a fight, be at least half the man you claim to be a start it with me, not her. " Brock said looking at Melanie. Melanie smiled. He was defending her. Big Show slowly stepped away, with out any comments. Heyman came up to Brock.

"Brock, can I speak with you, alone?" He said turning toward Melanie. Brock motioned Melanie to leave the room.

Melanie arrived at the Halloween party just in time to see Funaki bobbing for apples. Everyone was in costume, including Stephanie McMahon. Melanie was dressed as a witch.

"Hey Mel… wow great costume! Where's Brock" Stephanie said setting down a plate full of pumpkin cookies. Melanie shrugged.

"Heyman wanted to speak with him alone. Business talk I guess." She said taking a couple cookies in her hand.

"Or," Stephanie began, "Maybe their talking about you." Melanie laughed taking a bite out of her cookie.

"Yeah, right. Come on, lets eat something we're gonna regret tomorrow." Steph shook her head.

"I'm serious. I've seen you guys spend a lot more time together than most managers do with their clients. I think Brock has a thing for you." Steph said, nudging Melanie in the ribs. Melanie was about to reject her accusation when the stage manager interrupted their conversation.

"Excuse me Ms. McMahon, your father is waiting for you in your office. He wants to talk to you. Said it was important." He said. Stephanie excused herself, leaving Melanie thinking about their chat. A few moments later, she came back.

"What did your dad want?" Melanie asked. Stephanie shivered.

"It wasn't my dad. It was Eric Bischoff from Raw." Stephanie whispered. Melanie's eyes widened.

"What did he say?" Melanie asked. Stephanie shook her head.

"You really don't wanna know."

Meanwhile, Heyman was voicing his concerns to Lesnar backstage at the Van Andel Arena.

"Brock, I just wanna let you know what I think about the whole situation with you and the Big Show. Your encounter with the Big Show last week may have cause some damage." He said solemnly. "And even if you hadn't been attacked, I still want to tell you your chances of beating him are slim to nothing." Brock stared at Paul, shocked that his manager would say something of that nature to him.

"What do you mean Paul?" Brock asked. Heyman shook his head.

"Brock, you can't manhandle the Big Show. You can't suplex him; he's too big. And I don't think you can get him up for an F-5." He paused, letting it all sink in. "Simply put… you can't beat the Big Show." He said quietly.

Brock got up and stormed out of the locker room, leaving Paul in the room, alone.

That night, Brock had a non-title match against Chavo Guerrero. Accompanied to the ring by both Paul and Melanie, Brock successfully won his match. Out of nowhere, Big Show came and chokeslammed Brock through the Smackdown announcers' table. Brock lay, decimated by Big Show as Smackdown went off the air.

Melanie spent most of the week helping Brock recuperate from the second attack in two weeks by the Big Show, this one more brutal than the first. Brock suffered form a broken rib and was coughing up blood. There was no way he was going to be one hundred percent by Survivor Series.

"I told you Paul, I'm not going to quit. I've overcome obstacles like this before!" Brock said with a raspy voice. Paul sighed.

"Yes, all of your opponents have been less than seven feet, five hundred pounds." Paul argued. Melanie stepped forward.

"I think Brock needs to decide on his own whether he's ready to defend his title." Melanie said softly. Paul rose from his place at Brock's bedside.

"Don't you tell me how to do my job you little tramp!" He yelled raising his fist. 'You're the cause of all this mayhem! If it wasn't for you…" Melanie stepped back. It looked as if Heyman was going to attack Melanie when Brock slowly rose from his bed and pushed Paul aside.

" ENOUGH! Paul! Go take a walk, just do something to cool off. Go somewhere far away from here!" Brock roared. Heyman looked as if Brock had stabbed him in the back, as he stormed out of the hotel room. Once he slammed the door shut, Brock collapsed onto Melanie moaning in pain. She struggled to keep him up as she laid him down on his bed. As he settled in, she gave him a glass of water.

"Thanks Melanie. Are you ok?" Brock asked. His voice was weak and his face was pale. She had never seen him in worse shape.

"Yeah… I'm fine. But I don't think Heyman appreciates my input." Melanie said. Brock sighed.

"Well, I'm glad at least someone listens to me." He said holding her hand.

Smackdown was at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. There was only 3 days left until Survivor Series. Heyman arrived early to speak with Brock.

"Brock, I understand you." He said. "I'm not just your agent. I'm you're friend. I know you're like a caged animal, ready to explode. Let me do my job, and my job is to decide when to unleash the animal. Those things are better left to my judgment." He said reassuringly.

Lesnars rage began to build as he went ballistic in his room, forcing Heyman to one corner while he smashed a large television to the ground. Just then, Los Guerreros came into the room.

"Hey, ese. Whatcha doin' homie?" Eddie said to Lesnar. He whirled around and spotted Eddie and Chavo standing side by side, not the least bit unsettled by him.

"You know Brock, not only do we believe that you'll loose this Sunday." Chavo said mischievously. "But you wouldn't even last a minute with Los Guerreros!" They ran off as Brock chased them out of his locker room into the hallway, when Heyman stopped him.

"Brock! Brock! Listen to me! I have been with you since day one, and this is how you repay me!" Heyman roared. " I am sick and tired of you not listening to me about Big Show. If you want to waste your time chasing the Guerreros, you can it without me at ringside! See if you like being the brawn with out the brains!" He yelled, walking off.

Brock stood there as his agent abandoned him in the middle of the hallway. Melanie came up behind him. She had seen the whole thing.

"Brock. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble between you and…" Brock interrupted her.

"No, it's fine. We're better off this way. Besides, Paul always exaggerates. He'll be fine." He said quietly. "I just wanna see if I can do it on my own." Melanie nodded as Brock went to prepare for his match with Eddie.

"You've been really great for Brock you know." Stephanie said as Mel took her seat next to her in front of the TV in the General Managers office. Mel sighed.

"Not good enough. Brock just had a huge fight with Paul and it's all my fault. Sometimes, I wish you didn't assign me to him." Melanie said.

"I stand by my decision. It may look like he's pushing you away, but when some people do that." Stephanie said, placing her arm around Mel's shoulder. "That's when they need you the most." Melanie shrugged as the match began.

Despite the outside assistance from nephew Chavo and a solid game plan to take down Lesnar's vertical base, Eddie was still no match for Brock, who powered his way out of the Lasso from El Paso and F-'d Latino Heat for the victory. His celebration was cut short when the Big Show approached the ring.

"Oh my God!" Melanie gasped sitting on the edge of her seat as the monster came down the ramp. He was looking for a fight.

"Shit." She said as she quickly got up from her seat and headed out to the ring. By the time she got to the stage, it was too late. Brock was in mid air as Show press-slammed Lesnar off the top of the Smackdown platform. Melanie, followed by Heyman, rushed to his side. Paul's words had come back to haunt him as the two managers looked up at the Big Show in both amazement and disgust. Blood was pouring out of his mouth as EMT's loaded him into the ambulance.

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