Chapter 2
Hunter chuckled as he watched Goldberg in the ring at the beginning of RAW. The man was complaining about being jumped by either Kane or Hunter every week. Goldberg worked himself into a frenzy and declared a match with both Kane and Hunter that very night.
As Evie sat down next to him, Eric Bischoff came out to let Goldberg know who was in charge.
"Goldberg, I am the one who makes the decisions around her; not you! And I will fire you if you ever try to make a match again because this is not Monday Night RAW; this is the Eric Bischoff show! And no one can do a damn thing about-!"
Mick Foley appeared, cutting Bischoff's tirade off. "Well Eric, I can do something about it, after all, Linda McMahon hired me as an outside consultant to improve the show." He paused as he looked Bischoff up and down. "And believe me, it needs improving."
Bischoff started to protest and Mick cut him off again. "As my first act, I am changing the main event. It will be HBK, RVD and Goldberg vs. Randy Orton, Batista and Kane!"
Goldberg grinned his approval at Mick as Bischoff threw up his hands in disgust.
Mick continued. "This position is mine until the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin in some role or the other." Mick walked over to the edge of the ring and handed the clipboard he had been carrying to Lillian Garcia. "This is a petition for everyone to sign to bring back Austin." Lillian took the clipboard from Mick and he turned back to Bischoff. "The only thing wrong with this show is you, so I'm appointing myself the new co-GM. Have a nice day, Eric." Mick flashed a grin at Bischoff and exited the ring with Goldberg following him.
"Shit," Hunter said quietly. "That's all I need is Mick Foley as a co-GM. Just great," he muttered.
"Complicates things a bit, doesn't it?" Evie asked him as she gestured towards the monitor.
Hunter shook his head. "Not a whole hell of a lot, but yeah, it will complicate things." He stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "It's not like I haven't come up against Foley before though."
Evie watched him as he reached for a bottle of water. Her arm rested along the back of the leather sofa as she thought about this new development. She knew about the animosity between Hunter and Mick Foley. All though, compared to Hunter's feelings about Shawn, this was a picnic in the park. She observed him more closely and noted the scheming look in his eyes.
"You have something in mind?" she asked casually.
He turned to look at her, a little smile on his face. "I think I'm just going to take things easy until Armageddon." He twisted the cap off his bottle of water and took a long drink.
"Meaning?" Evie questioned. She wondered what he had up his sleeve for this go-around.
He finished swallowing and capped the bottle. "Meaning exactly that; I'm not going to give Goldberg and Kane an excuse to get in the ring with me until the pay-per-view."
"And let the rest of Evolution handle the dirty work," Evie concluded.
Hunter nodded in approval. "Exactly. I'm going to let both Kane and Goldberg tear each other apart, with the assistance of Evolution. Then all I have to do at Armageddon is pick up the pieces."
The door to the Evolution locker room opened and Batista, Ric Flair and Randy Orton walked in, bags in hand. Batista gave Evie a small smile when he noticed her. Randy ignored her as he usually did and Ric dropped is bag on the floor and gave Hunter a jumbo grin.
"Where the hell have you guys been?" Hunter demanded.
"Look champ, we were running a little late at the airport. But we're here, so don't get worked up," Ric replied. He looked at Evie. "Bad mood?"
Evie shrugged in response. "That depends I guess. Of course, Mick Foley just made himself co-GM, so…" she trailed off.
The room exploded with questions from the other three members of Evolution. Hunter filled them in on what happened, as well as the fact that the handicap match that Randy and Batista were in was now three on three. Of course, that didn't sit too well with them, but they decided that it was still business as usual.
Throughout the night, Mick proceeded to lay down the law, firing both Scott Steiner and Test. Jonathan Coachman lost his job due to losing a wrestling match between himself and Jerry Lawler. Mick had made that particular stipulation, much to Lawler's delight. He also fired La Resistance, just to show that he could.
Bischoff became more and more agitated as the events progressed. He had tried talking to Linda McMahon, but she simply hung up on him. He planned on calling Vince, but decided to take matters into his own hands. He was, after all, the co-GM of RAW.
Of course, Evie privately had a chuckle at Bischoff's expense. Doesn't feel so good on the other end, does it Eric? she mused silently.
The rest of the locker room was going over strategy for the night. Hunter had filled them in on letting Kane and Goldberg pick each other apart until Armageddon.
When Randy and Batista had gone to change, Ric, Hunter and Evie were amused watching Lawler defeat Coach and send him packing. Ric and Hunter were quietly conversing as the cameras cut to the back where they displayed Jericho and Christian bragging about who was getting farthest with their mutual interests. Then they started arguing over who would bed their girl first and win their bet. Evie shook her head in disgust. It figured that Jericho would do something like that. While he had left Evie alone for the most part, it looked like he still hadn't lost his slimy side. The camera panned out to show that Trish had been listening in and she was now crying.
Ric stood up as Batista and Randy came out of the shower area in their wrestling gear. "Ready to go?"
Both men affirmed that they were and the group headed for the door.
"Give 'em hell, guys," Hunter said as the three men walked out. Hunter sat back down on the sofa next to Evie and gave her a sly grin.
Her eyebrow shot up. "And what is that look for?" she asked casually.
The grin widened and he said nothing in response; only gave her a lascivious look and then turned his attention to the monitor again.
Evie sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said quietly. She also watched the monitor.
RVD, Shawn Michaels and Goldberg were already in the ring and the camera cut to the video of Kane jumping into the fray of Hunter's match with Goldberg last week. As soon as that had finished, Evolution's music came up and the three men walked down the ramp to the ring.
Randy and RVD started off with Randy doing what he could not to get injured by RVD. Before RVD could land a Five Star Frog Splash, Randy managed to roll out of the ring, so RVD turned it around and hit a cross body on Randy outside of the ring instead.
The two men got back in the ring and Randy managed to tag in Batista, who stormed in and wiped the mat with RVD, then tossed him into Evolution's corner. RVD managed a somersault and then knocked Batista around enough to tag in Shawn. Shawn hit the top rope and performed an elbow drop on Batista and then once he landed, gave him a dose of Sweet Chin Music.
Kane entered the fray and choke slammed Shawn. He whipped Shawn into a corner and tried to nail him with a clothes line, but Shawn countered and fought his way out of the corner. Shawn elbowed away another choke slam but immediately ran into a clothesline. He struggled to his corner to tag in someone and slapped Goldberg's hand. Goldberg manhandled both Batista and Randy and then everything went to hell after Goldberg got a hold of Kane.
Somehow Goldberg managed to spear Kane, knocking him to the mat, but before he could pin Kane for the three count, Evolution ran in, but were cleared out by RVD and Shawn. Kane ran, chased by Goldberg as RVD took it to Orton in the ring with spin kicks, a springboard side kick and then a Rolling Thunder, but Ric Flair managed to pull the ref out of the ring before the count. RVD gave Randy a Five Star Frog Splash and Mick Foley ran down for the three count. The bell ran, signifying the win for RVD, Shawn and Goldberg.
Once the chaos had cleared out, Bischoff came storming out. "Foley! You have ruined RAW with your firings! You have depleted the roster and Paul Heyman will be waiting with open arms for those people!" Bischoff climbed into the ring and faced Mick. "At least Austin was competent! I get stuck with you!"
Mick interrupted. "Eric, this was all to show you what happens when ego runs wild. Next week however, it will be Kane versus Goldberg!" His voice dropped just a bit. "And now, I think it's time to give the fans what they want."
Mick dropped the mic and reached into the front of his pants, pulling out Mr. Socko. Bischoff backpedaled as Mick advanced on him, but couldn't escape and was given a Mandible Claw by Mick, much to the crowds' delight.
AS the monitor went black, Batista, Randy and Ric stumbled into the locker room. Ric was vehemently protesting Mick Foley's interference as Batista and Randy headed off to change.
"This is ridiculous!" Ric snapped. "We could've had that match won, but no! Mick Foley has to stick his damn nose in and-" He got so angry he couldn't even talk.
"We'll take care of Foley when the time is right," Hunter talked over Ric. "Don't worry about one match."
"One match!" Ric yelled. "What about every other match he decides to interfere in!"
Hunter only smirked. "Oh, I think Foley will have something else to worry about besides matches pretty soon."
Ric stopped short and looked at Hunter. He noticed the calculating look in his eyes. A grin spread across Ric's face. "You got something going on, don't you, champ?"
Hunter tapped his head with his finger. "Oh, I got something going on alright. So, don't worry about Foley. He'll be taken care of."
Ric clapped Hunter on the shoulder. "See, this is why they call you the Cerebral Assassin." He laughed and headed off to change back into his street clothes.
Evie had remained on the sofa, watching the exchange with interest. She waited until Ric had disappeared before she spoke up. "So, what do you have going on in the head of yours?"
Hunter turned to look at her. "Let's just say a few well chosen comments to a certain someone, will guarantee that Foley will be distracted from his co-GM position." He held up a hand as Evie started to ask him another question. "I'm not going to say anymore about it. Just wait and watch."
Evie knew better than to push him. So she waited and watched along with Ric. Over the next week, she saw Hunter talking to Randy constantly. Whenever he had the opportunity, Hunter would bend Randy's ear, but Evie was never told what it was about. She shrugged it off, figuring it had to do with either Goldberg or Kane. She did notice, however, that he never talked to Batista the way he talked to Randy.
Hunter sat out on RAW the following week. He didn't make an appearance in the ring, nor did he make any on camera appearances either. He simply sat back and let Goldberg and Kane go at each other. As the show progressed, Bischoff set up Jericho and Christian to face Trish and Lita at Armageddon after the two men lost their tag title match to the Dudley Boyz due to interference from Lita and Trish. Christian looked thrilled while Jericho looked less excited about the prospect of facing Trish in a match. Batista faced Rob Van Dam and won with a power bomb. Hunter grinned his approval as the ref did the three count.
Kane appeared on the monitor, talking about killing his neighbor's dog and watching it rot, not to mention being eaten by maggots. He went on to explain that Goldberg annoyed him, while the fans reminded him of maggots. He stated that when he takes the belt at the pay per view, Goldberg won't like it; Hunter won't like it; the fans won't like it, but he will.
"He won't be getting his hands on that title at Armageddon!" Ric exclaimed. "We all know who's gonna walk outta there the champion, don't we?" he said excitedly as he clapped Hunter on the back.
"He won't like what I'm going to do to him in the ring, and he definitely won't like it when I walk outta there with that belt," Hunter responded with a grin.
Evie stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going to go scrounge up some juice from catering. Anyone else want anything?" she asked casually. They all shook their heads in response. Before she reached the door, Hunter cautioned her to be careful. She smiled in response as she left the room.
The walk down was uneventful. She stopped and chatted amicably with a couple of the crew members on her way there. As she entered the catering area, she noticed Mick Foley passing the petition to Lita to sign. Evie grabbed a bottle of juice and waved at Lita as she caught her eye. Lita grinned as she handed Mick the petition back. Evie walked over to them.
She nodded at Mick as she approached. "How are you, Mick?"
"Oh, I'm doing okay. How about you?" Mick responded.
Evie smiled. "Fine; just fine." She looked down at the petition. "I see you have quite a few names on that."
Mick nodded. "Yeah, and Lita here just added her name."
Evie looked at Lita. "You can't stand Bischoff either, huh?" Evie asked with a wry smile.
A laugh escaped Lita. "Yeah, well Steve did give me my job back. I figured it was the least I could do." She looked Evie over. "So, what've you been up to? I don't see much of you anymore now that you're hanging with Evolution."
"Keeping Hunter in line," Evie stated matter-of-factly. "You know what a pain in the ass he is."
Mick laughed at that. "I forgot you're Triple H's assistant." He shook his head. "I saw that match. I thought he fired you."
A mock portentous expression crossed her features. "He did, but came crawling back." Evie tossed her hair over shoulder, imitating Jericho. "What can I say? He can't live without me." Lita scowled at Evie's mocking of Jericho's mannerisms.
Evie caught the look on her face. "Sorry," she apologized. "He's probably one of the last people you need reminding of."
"It's okay," Lita assured her. "I'm not heartbroken over Christian or anything." She looked at Mick. "Austin was right; Christian is a C.L.B."
Mick laughed. "Yeah he definitely is a creepy little bastard." He saw one of the production people motioning to him. "Excuse me ladies, but I need to go."
Both women said goodbye to Mick and Evie turned her attention back to Lita. "So, how have you been doing with the whole bet thing?"
Lita shrugged. "I'm more pissed than anything else. Trish was the one who got hurt. She was really digging Jericho." Her hand came up and swept through her hair, pushing it back from her face. "She's done crying; now she just wants to kick his ass."
Evie nodded, understanding how that felt. "Don't you have a tag team match with Trish tonight?"
"Yeah. I really wanted Christian and Jericho tonight, but Bischoff's being a prick and saving that for the pay-per-view." She smiled at Evie. "I really should get going. Gotta warm up."
"Sure," Evie replied as Lita started backing up. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Lita replied as she gave Evie a thumbs up. "I'll talk to you soon."
Evie watched as Lita disappeared around the corner. "Right," she murmured. She knew she probably wouldn't be talking to Lita any time soon. Ever since Lita had returned and found that Evie had become involved with Hunter, she had steered clear of Evie. Evie hadn't been exactly sure why. She and Lita never had a problem with each other. Lita was friendly towards her, but didn't go out of her way to be friends with Evie.
Too bad, Evie thought. It would be nice to have a female friend.
She shrugged it off as she walked back to the locker room. When she entered, the monitor displayed The Rock in the ring with Mick Foley, giving La Resistance a difficult time. He had a go at them, insulting them at every opportunity and they attacked him and Mick in retaliation. La Resistance was beaten down and they made a hasty retreat while The Rock shouted is signature tag line.
Evie situated herself on the sofa and watched as the rest of the show progressed. Evolution was off in a corner talking about the Lumberjack match between Kane and Goldberg that was coming up soon. Lita and Trish were defeated by Victoria and Molly Holly. All too soon, Ric, Randy and Batista were leaving for the lumberjack match.
Hunter sat back on the sofa. "Well, let's see how much Goldberg gets softened up tonight," he stated with a smirk.
Evie simply shook her head as she made room for him. Ever since Goldberg had won the title, Hunter had been working his mind furiously for ways to beat the man down before stepping in the ring with him.
Throughout the match, Hunter remained quiet, at least until the end. The lumberjacks had all entered the ring, causing Kane to be disqualified. They all ganged up on Goldberg until RVD came down and attacked Randy. RVD was overwhelmed by the lumberjacks as well, but then Booker T and Shawn Michaels came down and attacked Mark Henry and Batista, effectively turning the tide and clearing the lumberjacks out of the ring. Shawn went for a Sweet Chin Music on Kane, but it failed to knock him over. Goldberg quickly followed that up with a spear and Kane hit the mat hard. Shawn, RVD, Booker T and Goldberg celebrated as the show ended and the monitor went black.
Hunter couldn't believe Shawn Michaels had interfered in his business yet again! He swore softly as the rest of Evolution stumbled back into the locker room.
Evie wisely remained silent. She had seen the look on Hunter's face and knew that the other three men were definitely going to get an earful. But surprisingly, Hunter only grimaced at them and shrugged.
"You did what you could," he said quietly. "There's still the rest of the week to take care of him."
Randy raised an eyebrow at Hunter's lack of outburst. Batista only nodded in consent. Ric, however, was a bit quicker on the uptake and grinned at Hunter.
"You're right H. I know we didn't exactly come out on top there, but at least we got a hurting on him!" Ric stated loudly. "Don't worry. That belt is as good as yours at Armageddon!"
Hunter looked at Ric, his eyes now gleaming in anticipation. "You're damn right it is." His gaze traveled over Randy and Batista. His voice lowered. "And none of you better forget that."
Clothes were changed, bags packed and loaded into the limo and they were on their way back to the hotel. Batista was sitting next to Evie as Hunter was once again, talking quietly with Randy. Ric was chatting away on his cell phone.
Evie looked up at Batista and noticed him watching the two men. "You know what's going on?" she asked quietly.
He glanced at her. "No idea at all," he responded softly. "I'm assuming you don't either."
Evie shook her head. "Hunter hasn't said a word about it to me. But that's not unusual."
A low chuckle came from Batista. "So what else is new?" he joked.
Evie smiled. "True, but I wonder what he's up to all the same." And she had been wondering. She thought it may have to do with what Hunter had said about Mick Foley being distracted from his duties, but wasn't quite sure if talking to Randy was going to accomplish anything.
Evie and Hunter bade goodnight to the other three men when they reached their hotel room. Evie unlocked the door and they walked in. Hunter dropped his bag on the floor as the door swung shut behind them. Evie set hers down and proceeded to remove her coat and scarf. As she hung her coat up, Hunter disappeared into the bathroom. The water for the shower started running and Evie started removing her clothes in preparation for bed. The door to the bathroom swung shut as she was pulling her nightshirt out of her suitcase.
She propped herself up against the headboard, her book in one hand. She made herself comfortable and began reading. Hunter finally emerged from the bathroom with his clothes in one hand and without a stitch on his body. Evie was too engrossed in her novel to notice.
He slid under the blankets, facing Evie. She didn't acknowledge him, but kept reading. He watched as she continued reading her book. His hand slipped under the sheet, moving towards her thigh. His fingertips encountered warm flesh and he proceeded to gently run his fingers up and down the sensitive skin, trying to get her attention.
After a few passes, she set the book down in her lap and looked over at him. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked him.
"Yeah, you can put that book away and pay attention to me," he said with a faint grin.
"Maybe I don't want to pay attention to you. Maybe I want to read." She smiled at him. "I did buy this book for a reason, you know."
The faint smile grew wider. "Well, I'm in this bed, naked, with you for a reason, you know."
"Is that so?" she asked innocently. Hunter nodded in response. "You're actually naked?" Hunter nodded again. She scrunched up her nose as she pondered that thought. "Hmmm… tough call. I can either read my book or pay attention to the naked man in my bed." She pretended to think it over for a couple more seconds and then picked her book up again. "Too bad for the naked man," she said as she started reading. A sideways glance showed her that he wasn't too happy about her decision. She laughed softly to herself. She was only teasing him, but she enjoyed it. It kept him on his toes.
Hunter reached over and jerked the book out of her hand. She voiced her disapproval as he dropped it over his side of the bed, and she leaned over him to try and retrieve it. He then reached out, pulled her down on him and kissed her deeply. She moaned into his mouth as his hand found her breast and began caressing it through the fabric of her nightshirt. The kiss was broken after a minute and Evie pushed back to look at him.
"What was that for?" she asked.
"That's for not paying attention to the naked man," he replied huskily. "There's more to it, but the thing is, you have to be naked too." As he said this, his fingers found the hem of her nightshirt and gently tugged on it.
"Maybe I don't want to be naked," she responded as she shifted herself out of his embrace.
"Evie," he protested. He'd been waiting to get her alone all day and he wasn't in the mood for her to play hard to get.
"Hunter," she mimicked his tone of voice. "I'm not interested in getting naked with you right now."
"Well, what are you interested in, then?" he asked as he leered at her.
She sat up as she faced him and steered the conversation in a totally opposite direction. "I'm more interested in what you've been talking to Randy about."
That was completely out of left field. He hadn't been expecting her to ask him about that; at least, not at that moment. "Is that so?" he questioned. When she affirmed that it was, he spoke up again. "And why do you want to know?"
"Because I find it awfully strange that you would take so much time to talk to him and not Dave," she replied. She had been wondering that for the past week. She had her suspicions, but that was all.
Hunter decided to clue her in. "Well, you know how I said that a few well chosen comments to a certain someone, will guarantee that Foley will be distracted from his co-GM position." Evie nodded and Hunter continued. "Seeing as Randy calls himself the Legend Killer, I figured that he'd be eager to take on another legend and at the same time, sidetrack Foley from his co-GM position." He hesitated and then added, "It just might make him decide being a co-GM isn't good for his health."
"I see," Evie said slowly. "Interesting." She had figured Hunter would think of something like that. "So, do you have faith in Randy's abilities, or are you just manipulating him into doing the dirty work for you?"
"A little of both," Hunter replied. He noticed the look on her face. "Oh come on, Evie. I know you don't really like Randy, so what difference does it make? It gives him more credibility and bragging rights, and I get what I want. Where's the harm in that?"
Evie said nothing. He was right; she didn't really care for Randy. He always treated her with a modicum of respect because of Hunter, but, like Ric, he made her uncomfortable. She knew she needed to watch her back around him. The only one she trusted besides Hunter was Dave.
Hunter watched her. "Don't tell me you have a soft spot for Foley," he snorted in derision.
"No, but he's given me no reason to dislike him," she replied. "But then again, this is business for you, so…" she trailed off and shrugged. Business was business.
"I'll just have to have a little chat with Mr. Bischoff by the time Armageddon rolls around," Hunter continued, "and you're damn right it's business." His expression became lecherous as he looked at her. "And I've got some other business with you," he said suggestively.
Evie laughed and tried to escape as he reached for her. It was useless to struggle as he had her out of her nightshirt and pinned to the bed within seconds. Her laughter turned to moans as he showed her exactly what sort of business he meant.
Hunter disappeared in search of Bischoff while Evie watched Lita and Trish's match against Jericho and Christian. She was glad that Armageddon was finally underway. Ric's constant pep talks had been getting in her nerves. She didn't know how Hunter withstood Ric's babbling at times, but she knew Ric had accomplished a lot in the business, and that Hunter respected him for that.
Randy's match against RVD for the Intercontinental Title had resulted in Randy becoming the new IC champion, despite Mick Foley's guest refereeing. Ric had tried to interfere more than once to give Randy the advantage, resulting in RVD taking a blow to the crotch on the top rope. That had given Randy the opportunity to hit RVD with and RKO and Mick begrudgingly did the three count. Randy had celebrated with Ric in the ring, proudly displaying the belt. He didn't bother changing out of his gear as he, Ric and Batista were providing back up during Hunter's title match against Kane and Goldberg.
Dave was warming up as Ric changed in the locker room. He was facing Shawn Michaels and then after that, he and Ric were in a tag team turmoil match for the tag titles. Evie secretly hoped Dave pounded Shawn into the mat. While Shawn had not spoken to her since she had returned, she still harbored a little resentment towards him for trying to use her against Hunter.
Her attention was on the monitor as she watched Christian and Jericho make short work of the two women. Evie winced in sympathy as Jericho yanked Lita out of the ring and tossed her into the guard rail while Christian rolled Trish up for the win. Christian celebrated the win, while Evie noted the look of dismay on Jericho's face.
Could it be that Jericho is actually human somewhere in there? she thought wryly. It was unlike him to show an emotion like that. She recalled the look of perverse pleasure he'd had on his face when she had squared off in the ring with him back in March. Maybe he was actually digging Trish too, Evie pondered, then shook her head. Weird, but possibly true.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Ric and Dave heading out for Dave's match. Evie wished them both luck. They both grinned at her. No sooner had the door closed behind them, than Hunter walked in with Randy. Both men were smiling hugely. Evie knew why Randy was smiling, and could only assume that things went as planned with Bischoff for Hunter. Hunter looked down at Evie, still wearing that smile.
She arched an eyebrow at him. "I take it everything went all right?" she asked.
"Everything went just fine," Hunter responded and then turned to his bag to get his gear out. He pulled it out and set it aside as Shawn and Batista started their match.
After going back and forth several times, Batista reversed Shawn's Sweet Chin Music into a couple of spine busters. He then went for a power bomb, but Shawn hopped off Batista's shoulders and then delivered a super kick out of nowhere. After the bell had rung, Ric helped a confused and then angry Batista to his feet and backstage, where Batista cursed loudly and proudly.
However bad Batista had come out of the previous match, he and Ric emerged from the next one as tag team champs; beating out the worn down Dudley Boyz, who had gone through Jindrak and Cade and then Test and Scott Steiner. Before Lillian could announce The Dudleys as the champs, Bischoff had appeared and announced the final team of Batista and Ric Flair. The two made short work of the Dudleys and Batista hit a sit out power bomb for the win.
Hunter and Randy high-fived each other as Batista and Ric walked up the ramp with the belts. Hunter then disappeared to change into his gear for his match. Ric and Batista burst into the locker room, holding the title belts high and exchanging slaps on the back with Randy.
Evie congratulated both men as they downed a couple of bottles of water each. Randy expressed his admiration at their belts and they congratulated him on his. Hunter finally emerged from the changing area and after applauding the new tag team champs, began warming up.
Hunter went out to the match without an escort. He had told the rest of Evolution to wait backstage until it looked like he needed assistance.
It started off with a three way stare down between himself, Goldberg and Kane. Kane and Hunter worked on Goldberg together, but that was short-lived when Kane turned on Hunter. Goldberg took his chance and power slammed Kane down, but he sat up. Kane manhandled the Goldberg while Hunter hid outside the ring. He came back in when Goldberg had the advantage, but received a suplex for his pain. Kane went to the top rope, but Goldberg slammed him off. Hunter tried attacking from behind, but Goldberg power slammed him as well
Once again Kane and Hunter worked together on Goldberg, but when Hunter went for the pin, the partnership ended quickly. Before the two men came to blows, Goldberg recovered and tossed Hunter out of the ring. Just before Kane jostled Goldberg into position for a choke slam, Hunter "accidentally" hit him with a steel chair. Goldberg took advantage of the situation and was about to break Hunter's leg using the chair, when Kane threw him outside and then followed to keep beating him down. Goldberg ended up taking a elbow drop form Hunter on the Spanish announce table, causing it to collapse. Hunter then grabbed another steel chair to use on Kane, but Kane turned away from him and in the process, hunter dropped the chair and slammed Kane into the steel steps instead.
Kane chased Hunter back into the ring and worked him over with everything he had. He went looking for the choke slam, but Hunter put a thumb in Kane's eye. A DDT from Hunter couldn't keep Kane down and Hunter ran, but Kane caught him and choke slammed him on the steel ramp. He flung Hunter back to the ring just in time to get speared by Goldberg.
After all three men got to their feet, they began trading punches. Kane and Hunter worked together again, but couldn't keep Goldberg down. He speared Kane first and then Hunter. That's when the remaining three members of Evolution ran down to the ring. Goldberg made short work of them and then covered Hunter for the count, but only got two due to Kane breaking it up. Goldberg and Kane tried to choke each other out, but Hunter broke that up and Evolution pulled Kane to the outside.
While Batista and Randy restrained Kane, Hunter managed to pedigree and pin Goldberg for the win. Evolution swarmed the ring, celebrating with Hunter on his victory while the officials checked on both Kane and Goldberg.
The four men walked back into Evolution's locker room. Hunter dropped the title on the couch and pulled Evie into a hug.
"Congratulations," she whispered in his ear as he gently squeezed her.
He smiled at her as he let go. Somehow, Ric had procured some champagne, which was being delivered at that moment by four women he had the foresight to make an arrangement with earlier. Ric cracked open the champagne as the women each attached themselves to one of the men.
Hunter caught the amused look on Evie's face as one woman ran a hand appreciatively over his arm. She didn't have to worry, however. Hunter spoke quietly to the woman as he disengaged his arm from her hand. The woman looked at Evie then back at Hunter and shrugged as if to say "your loss." He passed her off to Randy, who gladly took her.
He took the glass of champagne Ric was offering him, as well as Evie, and they toasted their victories of the evening.
One by one, the men disappeared into the changing area to clean up and put their street clothes back on. The champagne disappeared and the group left the locker room and headed for the limo. Once inside, Ric produced another bottle of champagne and announced that they were heading back to the hotel for private celebrations.
Ric looked over at Hunter. "So, how does it feel to be the nine time World Heavyweight champ?"
A huge grin spread across Hunter's mouth. "Feels damn good, Ric. And if Goldberg or Kane think they're getting another shot at this title, they're sadly mistaken." He glanced down at the tag team title lying on the seat next to Ric. "How does it feel to be one half of the best damn tag team in the business?"
Ric raised his glass. "Feels damn good, champ!" he echoed. He looked around at the other two men. "Here's to Evolution! The group with all the gold!"
They all raised their glasses in salute. "To Evolution!"
A/N: Thank you for being so patient in waiting for this chapter. I apologize for taking so long, but with all the stuff that's been going on, it's been difficult finding time to work on this. I realize it's heavy on the wrestling and low on the interaction between characters, but I'm trying to speed up the actual plot a little. If you notice anything out of whack or that's not quite right, let me know please. You know where to find my email addy!
I thank you all for the reviews that were left for Chapter 1! I appreciate the fact that you took the time to read the story and leave a review. Nice to see a few new readers too!