There were police everywhere, as was expected. Most of them were useless as hell. They milled around, whispering to one another. Some even snickered as their eyes flickered over Flair's body, and Hunter wanted to hit them. He wouldn't even have known anything, let alone gotten inside, if there weren't plenty of officers who got their quarterly bonus from Evolution Enterprises.
They had positioned themselves throughout, so as to make it easier for Hunter to get through with minimal conflict. The occassional cop said something to him, but a crisp hundred dollar bill always made eyes turn the other way. The one who had actually made the call would get an even bigger bonus... just as soon as Hunter did what he came to do.
Flair's house was huge, and he had no idea where Stacy was. He called someone over and was directed to the study. The officer walked with him so he wouldn't be hassled, then left him at the door.
Hunter stood to the side. He could barely see Stacy, but he got a clear view of Benoit's back. He had wondered why he hadn't shown up after the bombing at the club. He was too busy badgering Stacy. He listened to the questioning, trying to get a look around him.
"You said somebody called you, Stacy." She didn't say anything. From his groan, Hunter guessed she didn't even look at him. "If you don't tell me anything, I can't help you. You want me to find your father's killer, don't you?" She still didn't say anything. Benoit knelt down in front of her and Hunter got a clearer view.
Stacy sat in a large black leather chair. Her shirt was torn, and from across the room, Hunter could see that the sleeves were torn off. Bandages covered her arms, and there was a Band-Aid on her cheek. He couldn't see below her waist, Benoit blocked his view, but what he was able to see was enough to send him walking forward.
"You know this wasn't the only thing that happened tonight, right?" Stacy hadn't been looking at him, but at his words, she turned towards him. "Somebody tried to take out Helmsley and Batista at the club. Somebody died out there, too, Stacy. A young kid that started Helmsley's car. Orton's already been attacked. If this person is talking to you, you could be next. Do you wanna end up like your old man?"
"I don't know anything!" Stacy screamed and Hunter barged over. She looked up at the sounds of his heavy footfalls.
"Leave the girl alone," Hunter said, a growl beneath his words. "Don't you have any fuckin' respect? She found her father's body for fuck's sake!"
Benoit stood and whirled around. His eyes were dark with rage. "What the hell are you doing here, Helsmley? This is a crime scene and, unfortunately, you're not the crime."
"It's none of your goddamned business why I'm here." Hunter stepped closer to him. "All you need to know is that your time with Stacy Keibler is over. Anything else you have to say to her, you can say to our legal team." He smirked. "If you like, I could make a call and Dave could be here in half an hour. You know, after losing the Roadster and nearly losing Chyna, he's not in the best of moods right now."
Benoit glared at him, but he didn't argue. He may have been annoying as hell, but Hunter knew he wasn't stupid. He had a murder investigation on his hands that was going to be on the front page of every local newspaper, and quite a few national ones, by the time the sun rose over the horizon. The last thing he needed were headlines that said he was berating the victim's daughter.
With another smirk, Hunter moved past him. He caught the rest of Stacy and instantly lost any humor he had in getting one over on Benoit. Her feet were wrapped in white bandages. Her skin was pale. Her eyes were red-rimmed. A tremor ran through her body that was so slight, he had to be right up on her to see it.
He knelt in front of her and lightly touched her leg. "Stacy?" She turned her eyes up to him and blinked. Tears started to roll down her cheeks and her bottom lip trembled. "Stacy, I'm here to take you home."
She blinked again, as though she were confused. The words just weren't making any sense to her. "What?"
"Home, Stacy. I'm taking you home."
Her chin quivered. "No. I... I can't go home."
"You have to go somewhere. You can't stay here, Stacy."
She didn't say anything and Hunter just sighed. He stood up and looked down at her, wondering how to handle this. He wasn't going to let her sit there, and she certainly couldn't walk on those bandages. He wanted to know what had happened, but he would ask that later. For the time being, though...
He bent down and wrapped one arm around her waist. He put the other beneath her legs, then lifted her. Stacy leaned inot him, pressing her head against his chest. Tears leaked into his shirt. Hunter turned and stalked past Benoit, taking Stacy right out the front door and to his car.
When he got her inside with the seatbelt on, Stacy turned to look at him. She let the tears airdry on her face as she said, "My car's here." Her voice was soft and cracked at the end of her sentence.
"I'll send somebody to get it in the morning."
Hunter walked around to the driver's side and got in. He started the car quickly and took off down the drive. He was worried about Stacy being there, but he didn't really want to be in the house either. With just the smallest glimpse of Ric's body, he knew that he would be seeing that sight for a long time.
There were a lot of things he wanted to ask her. How did she end up at Ric's house? What did Benoit mean when he said the guy was talking to her? How had she managed to get so cut up? She would probably answer his questions easier than Benoit's, but he couldn't bring himself to ask them. Since joining forces with Ric Flair, Stacy had become almost a younger sister to them all, Hunter especially. He felt the innocence around her the same as Ric had, and just like his late friend, he held onto that.
He wanted to help Stacy out of respect for Ric, but at the same time, he knew that he was no good. Hunter had no delusions about the type of man that he was. He did horrible things and lost no sleep over them at night. Maybe, helping Stacy this night would make him a little less of a creep to the one person involved in Evolution Enterprises who was wholly innocent.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked softly.
Hunter looked at her and sighed, then turned his attention back to traffic. She didn't want to go home, so that was out. Cops were crawling all over the club and the last thing Stacy needed to see was another crime scene. The only place left, really, was his beach house. He had planned to spend the night alone, ranting, but apparently, that wasn't meant to be.
"I'm taking you to my place."
"Okay." She settled into silence for another five minutes. Hunter said nothing as he drove. Stacy finally spoke again and said, "I knew something was wrong the whole way over there. This guy just called and said to say goodbye to daddy, and I ran out of there and jumped in the car and the entire way over there... I just knew it was wrong, ya know? More than wrong, really. I knew even if I called the cops they'd never get there in time ' cause he was already gone. And then I got there. I broke down the glass and I walked on glass and he was there and... I don't even remember the EMT's bandaging me up. I just remember screaming." She rolled her head on the seat and looked at Hunter. "I'm going to hear that screaming in my head for a really long time."
Hunter turned to look at her, but she had already gone back to staring out the window. He didn't say anything, because there was nothing for him to say. She had answered all unasked questions. She obviously didn't feel like talking anymore, and that was fine with him. He wasn't even sure how to handle the situation. So, he just stared ahead and continued his drive to the beach, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his best friend and mentor was dead.
...go back