Chapter Two
The Decision
"...And it's all going to go to waste if that big idiot stays on Raw..."
Dave Batista stood just out of view, against the wall beside the Evolution locker room door. His lips curled into a smirk. He couldn't believe Hunter would be so careless to just admit to everything with the locker room door wide open. Dave had heard Hunter confess to everything - the limousine, the video tapes, everything. But it was nothing he didn't know already.
Randy Orton had tuned Dave in at New Year's Revolution, except that Dave would never admit such a thing. As "helpful" as Randy had tried to be, Dave knew that Randy just wanted to pull Evolution apart. He was cocky and had a bad attitude, and Dave always made it a point to never tell Randy that he was right about anything. He knew it would go straight to Randy's head and Randy had a big enough ego. So he kept quiet and just decided to start paying more attention to Hunter and Ric.
Then there was Cassie, the caramel-haired beauty who came out to admire his handiwork four days ago. Her words had stayed with him the entire weekend. He thought long and hard about what she had said; that, combined with Randy's proclamation that Hunter did not give a damn about anything but the World Heavyweight Championship, Dave found his mistrust growing. His perception had swayed on his "friends" in Evolution, and it wasn't for the better. Dave was certain that the World Heavyweight Championship was Hunter's primary concern. Not him, not Evolution, not anything else. It was liberating to hear Hunter's confession, only minutes away from Dave making his decision about who he was going to face at WrestleMania.
Dave wasn't too sure that it was such a bad thing if he went over to the blue brand. The triple threat idea seemed stupid, but he came to the decision that he wanted to get to know Cassie better. On the other hand, Hunter had an ass-kicking with his name on it. Hunter had hired somebody to run him down, just so Hunter could save him and make himself look like a hero. Hunter's name had been on the handle of the knife that had stabbed Randy Orton in the back. Dave refused to let that happen to him.
Hunter had plastered the most synthetic of smiles on his face when Randy had won the World Heavyweight title at SummerSlam. Dave was legitimately proud of Randy; he had earned it. The happiest night of Randy's life had been ruined because Hunter wouldn't share the spotlight in Evolution with someone like Randy. Dave knew it was how Hunter worked; never let them know when you're coming and what you're thinking until it's too late for them to do anything. Dave was going to be damned if Hunter tried the same thing with him. Hunter was a fool if he thought that he could pull the wool over Dave's eyes and ship him to SmackDown. He wasn't going to be Hunter's lackey any longer. He was not a pawn. He was a human being, with hopes and aspirations of being the best. If it meant he had to mow through Hunter, then so be it.
Cassie emerged from the shower, changed into a pink spaghetti-strapped dress with a sweetheart neckline. It came down to her knees. She dried her hair vigorously with a blue towel, anxiously making her way to the couch in the Divas locker room so that she could watch Batista make his big decision. Since meeting him four days ago, she had been so fascinated by every move that he made. It hadn't gone unnoticed by her friends.
Bradshaw was still complaining about his limousine being damaged. He wanted General Manager Theodore Long to pay for the damage. Teddy had told him to charge it to "The Game", since Hunter was the one that got JBL into that predicament. It pacified Bradshaw somewhat, as his grievances had more to do with having John Cena as his WrestleMania 21 opponent. He knew his days as champion were numbered; in the past few weeks, Cassie had seen a change come over John, a new confidence that came with finally defeating Kurt Angle at No Way Out. He was more focused and much more intense than ever.
She watched in sheer joy as Dave Batista opted to stay on Raw. He held the familiar thumbs down before assaulting Ric and putting Hunter through the table to drill home the point. Minutes after the show went off the air, there was a knock on the door. "Come on in!" she called out. The door opened and John walked in.
"What's the verdict?"
"You and JBL are one on one at WrestleMania."
"Oh, thank God," John replied with an exhale, throwing himself down onto the leather couch in a dramatic fashion. "That's terrific. I can take JBL no problem. But Batista in the mix...that would have been a serious question mark."
"At the end of the day, giving Hunter his just desserts outdoes any sort of desire to beat the hell out of you and JBL," she told him.
"I'll remember that. Thank God Hunter's such a jerk," he replied with a smirk. "Hey, the reason I stopped by is because Teddy wanted me to ask you if you wanted to participate in some tag team action next month in London."
"Who's all involved?"
"It'll be you and Torrie Wilson against Dawn Marie and Joy Giovanni."
"Yeah. You can count me in."
"Great." Cena stood up and prepared to take his leave. He turned to face her. "Oh, and when the time comes, I'll get you backstage to Raw, too." She smiled and he let himself out of her locker room.