(A/N) Well, got some personal news for all of you. It does affect the story in some way so it's not just me bitching about my life. Firstly, my doctor told me to wait two more weeks before playing any sport, on account of my quad. However, being the stupid, ignorant person I am, I disobeyed him. Accept it wasn't my quad which was the problem, I pulled my back…lol. I guess I am just injury prone. So I'll be at home for a while longer. However, school has started, and exams are fast approaching. So I'm going to have to fit this story around, school work, revision and other shit. So bear with me please. Updates will come, just not as frequently. So now that's over and done with, on with the story…
Chris was sitting at home all by himself. It had been a week since his fight with Edge and he still hadn't received any word from his friend.
"Was he really hurt? Did John find them out? Or even worse… did he turn? No way! No fucken way!" Chris thought to himself. Adam would never turn his back on him the way Shawn did to his brother.
"Shawn." He said to himself. He was thinking about his brother's betrayer when the phone rang.
"Hello?" Chris answered the phone.
"Hello Chris." The voice on the other line said, in an almost mocking tone.
"Who the hell is this?"
"I think you know Chris."
It was weird, how sometimes, when you are thinking of somebody, and that same somebody bumps into you on the street, or sends an email to you, or calls you on the phone, just as you are thinking of them.
"It's you!" Chris hissed. "You dirty mother fucker. When I get my hands on you, you slimy little worm, I'm going to ring your fucking neck."
"Hey. Calm down alright. I just want to talk."
"What the fuck makes you think I want to talk to you Shawn? You killed my brother. You betrayed his trust. Why the fuck do you think I would want to talk to you?" Chris was livid now. The nerve of the bastard. Calling, asking to talk.
"Hey, incase you forgot, I had the chance to reunite you with Rick, but I didn't. You remember right? That night in my house, when you tried to get me." Shawn replied.
Chris never did understand that. Shawn had the perfect opportunity to kill him that night, but he didn't. Why? An eerie silence had descended on the phone line.
"Have I got your attention?" Shawn finally asked.
Chris could tell that Shawn was smiling to himself. Chris was all ears.
"So I bet you wanna know why I didn't put you six feet deep that night."
Chris kept silent. He just wanted to listen, not talk. Not argue. Just listen.
"To tell you the truth, I was contemplating it. I was thinking about putting an end to the Jericho family right there and then. But your friends interrupted me before I could come to a final decision so I just bolted. Good thing I let you live too, because now I got you in my back pocket." Shawn stated smugly.
"Oh? How so?"
"I know all about your little scheme Chris. John may fall for it, but not me. I'm way too smart."
"What scheme? What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Oh don't play stupid with me Chris. But listen. You can act like you don't know what I'm talking about for as long as you want, but I know the truth. Look, I fancy myself as a pretty fair guy. So I'll tell you what, I won't turn your best buddy in just yet. But you remember this Chris. Just remember this conversation."
"Wait Shawn!" but it was too late. Shawn hung up the phone.
"FUCK!" Chris cursed out loud. "I've got to get him out."
Adam spun around as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Woah, calm down there big fella."
"Jesus. You scared the shit out of me." Edge said.
John took a seat next to Edge.
"I'll have a beer thanks." John said to the bartender.
Edge who was previously sitting alone at a bar, drowning his sorrows, was now accompanied by John.
"So whatcha doin here?" Edge asked.
"I was just about to ask you the same question."
Edge smiled a little. His head was still bandaged up from his fight against Chris.
"Oh, just thinking about everything and nothing."
John nodded his thanks to the bartender when he got his drink.
"Don't think I ever got a chance to congratulate you on an awesome fight. Everyone is still talking about it one week on." John said.
"I didn't win though did I? The son ova bitch stole it from me." Edge replied.
"Don't matter that you didn't win. You put up one hell of a fight. And if it is any consolation to you, you earned my respect." John said sincerely as he gave him a slap on the back.
"Thanks bro."
John lowered his head and brought his voice to barely above a whisper "But hey, there was a reason I busted my ass to track you down. I've got a proposition. A deal."
"Oh? What kind?"
"Only one thing I can tell you about it right now. It aint legitimate."
"That's the best kind of deal."
"Should we head back to the club? We can talk about it more openly there."
"Let's go then." Edge said as he and John downed their drinks and paid the tab. The two men then proceeded to leave the club.
Dave and Christy had just finished making love and the two lay next to each other in bed.
"Hehe. I told you I was just as good with one arm." Dave joked.
"Boy are you ever."
Dave put his good arm around Christy's neck and let her rest her head on it. They lay there in silence for quite a while.
"Dave, is everything alright between you and Hunter?" Christy finally asked the question she had been meaning to ask ever since that night.
Dave was thrown off balance by the question. "Um…yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't they be?"
Christy cocked her head to the side, as if she were thinking hard about something. "I dunno. Things just seem a little tense between you two."
"Tense doesn't even begin to describe things between me and Hunter." Dave thought to himself. But instead he said "No, no. Everything is fine. Don't worry about it."
Still Christy wasn't convinced. She decided she would do some investigating of her own the next day. Until then, she would enjoy the comfort of being in Dave's arms.
Chris had been a nervous wreck for the past few days. For one, his match with John wouldn't be too far away. Hunter was really building this one up to be a blockbuster. But the thing that was eating him up more than that was the fact that Adam hadn't contacted him yet. It was almost two weeks since the fight and he needed to speak to him very badly. Then one day, when Chris came back from dinner, he saw that he had a message on his phone. He pressed the play button and that familiar distorted voice came on. Chris was all ears.
"Hey. This is Mada. I presume the business is doing well? If it is, I would like you to meet me under the 'first time tree'. The day and time we had the closest shave of our lives. I'll be waiting for you there." The beep at the end signaled the conclusion of the message. Adam never missed a trick. An apparently pointless message gave Chris all the information he needed. The 'first time tree' was the huge oak tree that stood by itself in a concrete car park. Both of them had lost their virginity under that tree in the 11th grade, hence the name. The time and day of the closest shave of their lives. That was the time when the two of them almost got caught trying to steal weed from this kid back in the 10th grade. They had waited until 11 o clock, 2 hours in the freezing cold, for the lights to go out in the house. Except the dog was still awake inside, and barked like a bitch. The kid's dad chased them out with a shotgun. But what day was it? Chris was having trouble remembering. He knew it was the day before the year 10 dance. And that was always on the Friday. Which meant that it was Thursday. Today.
"Shit. Adam was smart." Chris thought to himself. He was buzzing with excitement. Chris had 2 hours to get ready.
Chris was driving as fast as his little car would let him. It was still pretty early, and there were a fair few cars around. Chris honked his horn, and weaved around traffic. He made it to the agreed spot with five minutes to spare. The surroundings were familiar and Chris stepped out of the car to take everything in. The tree was still there. He parked his car under the tree in the exact same spot as that faithful night in year 11. The big park on the east side of the car park, the gas station towards the south. Everything was till there. Adam's car pulled in slowly and drove up next to Chris., his window was down.
"Quick. Hop back in your car. Follow me." Adam said out of the window.
Chris did as he was told and started the car. The two men drove out of the car park.
Adam was driving pretty fast and Chris was having a hard time keeping up. He was weaving around traffic like a madman. It appeared as though Adam was driving around in circles. Adam finally peeled off a row of cars at a traffic light and burned it down the main street. Chris followed suit. Jericho then saw Adam's car pull into a parking lot outside a restaurant. Chris parked a couple lots away from him. No point in drawing attention. Edge made his way into the restaurant and Chris followed close behind. After being showed to a small corner booth, the two men sat down facing each other.
"Hey, glad you understood my message. Was afraid you wouldn't know where to go." Adam finally said.
"Man, how could I forget? The first time tree. Jenkins' old man chasing us out with a shot gun. Those were good times man." Chris reminisced with a smile.
"Yeah…good times."
"Hey, so what was all that about. The driving in circles business."
"Oh that was to make sure no one followed us here. Can never be too careful." Adam explained.
"Yeah, good looking out. So what did you want to tell me anyway? You go first cause I got something important to tell you as well." Chris said.
"Ok, well I called you here to tell you that I'm in. John has set up a big deal. Going to go down tomorrow night, at the docks in Stanton Island. Big armaments shipment coming in. Bunch of crazy Russians hauling em in illegally. We gonna highjack em."
Chris wore a concerned expression on his face. "That's some serious shit."
"Damn right. This isn't little leagues no more. We are in the big time." Adam said.
"Look. What I gotta tell you, is serious. I got a call from Michaels couple days ago. Son ova bitch found us out."
"WHAT!" Adam exclaimed, lowering his voice towards the end. He looked around to see if anyone noticed, but they were too engrossed with their meals. "What are we going to do?"
"Look, he hasn't told John yet. Said he ain't going to, so we can get you out now."
"Woah woah woah. If he said he's not going to, then what's the problem?" Adam asked.
"C'mon. You can't seriously believe a word he says. He's a conniving son ova bitch. He'll turn you in sooner or later. When it suits him best, he'll do it." Chris argued as softly as he could.
"Now you look, this is a damn big deal to me, as it should be to you. This is John Cena we are talking about. The guy who killed your bro…Now it seems to me that you don't want to avenge that." Adam shot back, immediately regretting it when he saw the hurt in Chris' eyes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I didn't mean it Chris."
"It's alright." Chris said, leaning back in his chair, and crossing his arms.
"Look Chris. I help John pull this deal off, and we'll be rich. Don't worry about me ok? I can take care of myself."
Chris nodded his head reluctantly. "Alright then. But the minute Michaels lets it slip, you bail."
"Sure thing buddy." Adam said as he rose from his seat. "Hey by the way, be ready for John. He's damn near ready to tear your head off in the final."
"Don't worry. So am I… So am I.
(A/N) Argh… that chapter didn't feel right to me. School has been getting me down lately. But what can you do. Btw, to Velvet Rhesus… don't worry, the John – Torrie business is far from over. Expect more of that in the near future. Till then, peace.