Bret and Hunter were at a café in Independence. For a Sunday morning, the place was slow. The thunder storm probably didn't help.
"Justin Gabriel, the nurse that came to work at Saint Luke's. Adam told Shawn about him. Adam said he was a nice guy and was an excellent nurse, with three years of medical school. Have you gotten anything further on him?" Hunter asked with a sip of coffee and a rumble of thunder.
Bret shook his head. "Not yet. Jason is going to ask his friend to do it when he takes the equipment back later. Interesting, three years of med school and chooses nursing? Nothing wrong with that, Doctors are helpless without nurses, but, three years is a lot."
Hunter nodded. "Yeah, it is. Adam only had one. He said nurses have more patient contact. Bret, will he go down?" Hunter hated to think of sending Justin to jail.
Bret gave a shrug. "I hope not. We'll have to see what the NCIC report says along with the deeper report from Jason's contact. I know the guy is FBI, but he could be even deeper than that. He always gets info that isn't on the NCIC. Looks like we may have more to worry about than our informant today." Bret pulled out his city issued cell phone, it had sent out an emergency alert.
Hunter's face creased with worry. "The weather?" He looked over at Bret.
"Yeah. Possible tornadoes later. Stay safe." Bret stood, shook Hunter's hand and left. He had to go to the station to prepare his department for possible trouble.
Hunter also hurried home. Neither Shawn or Megan were fond of storms. Nancy had gone to visit family in Kansas for the weekend.
At Adam's house, Dean was at a bit of a loss. He, Adam and the quads were in the family den. The quads clung to Adam, and wanted nothing to do with Dean. The children trembled every time the thunder rumbled.
Dean remembered something. He got up and went to the security panel in the front room. Dean smiled when he found what he wanted. He pushed a button and the outside and inside steel shutters came down. The house was in instant darkness, but the sound of the storm was nearly non existent.
The physician went back to the family den. Adam had turned on the lamps and the four little lions were calmer.
"Thank you, babe. I couldn't move enough to do it." Adam smiled at Dean as he caressed the back of Jordan's head.
"Thanks, Uncle Dean." Jade spoke as she climbed onto Dean's lap.
Dean held Jade close. "Daddy showed me what to do. You know, storms aren't anything to be afraid of. They have a very important job to do. A storm cleans the earth. The winds stir up all the dead leaves and grasses to make the trees and ground pretty. The rain washes away all the dust, brother wind stirred up. The problem is, brother wind and sister rain like to argue about who is better. That makes father thunder angry, so he rumbles at them, so that they remember to work together to clean mother earth. Just like any family, they argue from time to time and we have to listen to it. It's like when you and your sister and brothers argue sometimes. We have to listen to it and it makes daddy and I sad. So see, a storm is just a loud, windy family argument." Dean explained what his grandfather had told him as boy.
All the children had listened to Dean with rapt attention. It made them feel better and having the shutters down helped. They weren't totally calm, but they were much better than before.
Adam smiled at Dean, he silently mouthed; thank you. He then blew Dean a kiss.
Jordan looked at Adam, he still wore the pink eye patch. "Can we play Candy Land?" He gave a bit of a sniff as he worked to keep back the tears of fear.
"Of course. We can all play. I might even win again. I would be the Candy Land champion, maybe even get into the Candy Land Hall of Fame." Adam spoke with excitement. He hoped to make his children laugh in stead of crying in fear.
It worked, Jan perked up. "No, daddy. I am gonna win. Come on guys, we gotta stick daddy in the molasses swamp!"
James got the game. Adam and Dean moved the coffee table a bit so they could all sit on the floor and play the game.
Out in the backyard of Adam's house, Brett DiBiase finally had to take a punt. His treetop nest was too dangerous in the storm, especially with all the lightening. He knew Adam wouldn't see with the shutters down. Brett got out of the tree and climbed up into the little fort on top of the swing set. He'd thought about using the playhouse, but Brett didn't like the fact that it sat under the tree. A branch could cave in the roof before he could get out.
Brett grinned fondly. In the corner of the little fort was a pile of Matchbox cars. He and Ted played by the hours with cars like that. Sometimes Brett wished he and Teddy could just be kids again as he picked up one of the cars.
At the Orton mansion, Randy and his lieutenants were once again in the smoking lounge. It was the most interior room in the house. Mike Mizanin was terrified of storms and clung to Randy like a vine as they sat on the long, leather couch.
"Can't we go down to the room?" Mike asked as he ducked when thunder crashed. He wanted to be underground in the house within the house.
Randy held Mike close. "Not yet, baby. AJ is watching the weather. We will go if we have to. I know your scared, honey. I won't let anything happen to you. I love you too much." He pulled Mike in for a kiss.
Mike snuggled against Randy. He took comfort in the strong arms that held him. Heath looked at Mike, he didn't get the fear, he loved a good, loud thunderstorm.
"Mike, not to be nosy, but why are you so freaked out. I love storms." Heath asked, brow arched. He was curious not condescending.
It was Randy who explained. "When Mike was six, a tornado wiped out his house in Ohio. His grandparents were killed. They lived in an apartment attached to the house. A tree fell on them as they slept. He saw their bodies in the yard after they were pulled from the house, or what was left of it. I'd be terrified of storms too after seeing something like that." Randy wasn't angry at Heath. Heath had no way of knowing what little Mikey had been through.
Heath's eyes opened wide. "Oh Mike. I am so damn sorry. Hey, if you want, I'll go downstairs with you, Dolph too. We can play poker or something." He truly felt bad for his fellow lieutenant.
Randy looked at Mike. His lover cowered again with a loud rumble of thunder. "Come on, we'll all go. It's been a while since our last big poker game. Let's take the day off, no business. I need some money and you guys are gonna line my pockets when you lose." He nudged Mike and the couple stood.
"Thank you, babe." Mike kissed Randy softly.
As they made their way downstairs, the guys gave Randy a hard time and declared they were going to clean out the bosses wallet.
At the McMahon mansion, the storm was the last thing on anyone's mind. Vince sat at the head of the conference table, Stephanie on his left. Both McMahon faces matched the thunder overhead.
Vince McMahon looked at his Council of Seven loyal lieutenants. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.
"Where is that pup of mine? It's been a week. Don't sit there and tell me after seven days you still haven't found him?" Vince growled out his words. They were followed by a flash of lightening and a vicious crash of thunder. No one flinched.
It was Justin who spoke first. The others knew he was the best talker, so they had asked him ahead of the meeting to be the spokesman.
"Sir, we have been searching, nearly non-stop for six days. We have searched nearly every public parking establishment in town, and are using street boys to search the private ones. It takes time in a city with thousands and thousands of parking spaces. If Shane's car is in the city, we will find it. Sir, I will say one thing, I don't think finding his car will help. My suggestion would be to call off the search for the car and use that man power to find Shane, the person." Justin ended with a nod of respect to Vince. Inside he smirked, if they only knew where Shane's car really was.
Stephanie looked at her father. "They are right. The car won't tell us anything. We need guys looking for Shane. Airports, bus terminals, train station, Uber, Lyft, taxi's, city buses. Drew has made a missing poster. That's what we need to be doing." She thought the lieutenants were right. They were wasting time in the wrong places.
Vince looked at Stephanie. Perhaps, just perhaps she was right. "Alright. Put your time into looking for that whelp of mine. When you do find him, bring him to me; alive. I will take care of him personally. Who needs another lawyer fucking up the atmosphere. Finn, you are in charge of finding him. Wade, I know I promised you a trip to Mexico to see Senor Del Rio, but until Shane is found, it will have to wait. Do what you can to help Mister Bálor, but rest when you need to." Vince looked at Wade. Sleep was a waste of time, Wade was an exception.
Finn nodded. "I will find him, sir. But, it won't be hours, it will be days. Give us time to work. I promise, we will find him. What are your plans for Orton? I owe that fucker for a trip." Finn also growled with the thunder.
Wade placed a hand on Finn's thigh under the table. Finn needed to watch his mouth. He knew Vince didn't tolerate any kind of disrespect.
Finn bowed his head. "I am very sorry, sir. It's just...I thought I was going to die on that stupid acid trip. I meant absolutely no disrespect to you. I promise, on my medal, to find Shane before my revenge." He gave Vince a deep nod and kissed said medal.
Vince raised his hand. "I understand your anger, Mister Bálor. You will get your revenge. We aren't going to get Orton through his family, he has them too well protected. We are going to get to him through his men. We will take them out, one at a time. Start with that southern redhead, Slater. I think a good old fashioned car explosion would do the trick. Sheamus, redhead to redhead, give him your Belfast Special." He gave Sheamus a smirk.
Sheamus grinned. "One Belfast Special coming up. I can do it tomorrow. Slater always stops for their coffee before he goes to Orton's office."
Justin knew he would have to bypass Hunter and warn Orton directly. He was glad he had picked up several disposable phones, which were locked in his hidden safe at his condo.
"Very good, Sheamus. If we cripple his lieutenants, we will get Orton. Now, did anyone find anything in the second sweep of Shane's room?" Stephanie asked as she looked at her men.
Justin was a bit surprised, but he was very glad he'd found the bug and destroyed it. So even if the safe had been found, it was empty.
Cesaro answered. "No, ma'am. We did find a safe behind his high school diploma. Finn managed to crack it, but it was empty. If there was anything in it, he took it with him. As you know, his phone was clean. His books, clothes and shoes were searched. Every pocket and every insole, nothing. I even did a pencil rub on his notebooks. All that showed up was some notes from a lecture. Nothing incriminating at all, which to me proves, Shane is the rat. It is too clean." He gave a shrug.
The meeting came to an abrupt halt when the sound of the nearby tornado siren echoed like a screaming Irish Banshee.
"Gentlemen, time to head to the basement. Grab the supplies. Finn, take care of Wade. Move, now!" Stephanie barked the command, a storm was one thing, a tornado was another.
At the Helmsley house, Hunter gathered Megan's bag that contained the care pack for her pump. He also grabbed a her tablet, pillow and a blanket. They had a storm shelter under their garage. Shawn had already taken Megan down to safety. The last thing Hunter grabbed were his and Shawn's briefcases.
"Honey! Help me! My hands are full!" Hunter called from the top of the steps that led down to the underground shelter.
Shawn appeared. "Sorry. " He took the two briefcases and blanket. "Come on." Shawn moved down the steps. He looked scared to death.
Hunter went down the steps, at the bottom, he pushed a button and the steel plate lid slid closed. Megan had turned on the battery powered lantern and radio. There was a small couch and a bean bag chair. Megan was on the bean bag. Hunter joined Shawn on the couch.
"It will be alright, honey. It's more to the west. Sorry I took so long, but I figured we'd better have our briefcases." Hunter apologized for taking longer to get to the shelter.
Shawn curled up to his husband. "It's okay. You were smart to get them. Hunt?" He gave Hunter a look he hoped his husband would understand.
Hunter understood, and pulled Shawn close. "Fine. Underground." He knew Shawn was worried about Shane McMahon in the panic room.
Shawn nodded. "Yeah. Baby girl, you alright?" Shawn looked over at his daughter.
Megan listened to the radio with an ear bud. "They are saying west of Gladstone, but it could shift. It's about to cross over from Kansas." She repeated what the man had said on the radio. Megan tried not to sound as scared as she looked.
"Come up here with daddy, baby." Hunter stood, he had to duck his head a bit.
Megan nearly jumped into Shawn's lap, but managed to laugh when Hunter sank into the bean bag chair with a loud grunt.
"You know, he is gonna whine later when he tries to get out of the bean bag." Megan teased as Hunter wiggled his butt to get more comfortable.
Hunter looked at his daughter. "Not as much as daddy would with those bad, old knees of his. I hope Adam is alright, you know how scared the quads get and poor Adam isn't much better." He couldn't help but worry about Adam, as friend not a former lover.
"I'm sure Dean will have the situation in hand. I hope Nancy stays put until it's safe, and Ida too." Shawn also worried about their family friends.
Megan nuzzled against Shawn. "They will, I'm sure. Nancy is smart. The nursing home will look after Miss Ida. It's approaching the west side of downtown." She was glued to the radio.
At Adam's house, things were a bit chaotic. Randy had installed the same kind of storm shelter under the garage. The only difference was, Adam's shelter was bigger because of the size of the family.
Adam, the kids, and Dean were in the shelter. The portable radio was monitored by Dean. The kids didn't need to hear the announcer talking about the tornado.
Adam had Jade in his lap, Janice under his arm, and Jordan on his other side. James was next to Dean, and didn't cry like his brother and sisters.
"It will be alright, my darling. Dad had this nice shelter built to keep us safe. Uncle Dean will protect us, remember his promise? Daddy will always protect you too. Now, dry those tears and be our brave little lions." Adam spoke calmly to his three upset children.
James looked at his siblings. "Yeah, guys. We are safe down here. Let's play a game. Jade...Old Maid? Come on." He waved the pack of cards at Jade. The game was one her favorites.
Jade looked over at her sister. "Wanna, Jan?" She would do what Jan wanted. It was their identical twin thing.
Jordan slid onto the floor with James. "I'll play, but I am not an old maid! I am Cap'N Crunchberry!" He'd changed his pirate name when Dean had given him the pink eye patch…like the pink "berries" in the cereal.
Jan looked at Jade. "Come on, Jade." She took her sister's hand and led Jade to their brothers. James dealt out a round of cards.
Dean moved to sit next to Adam. "They will be alright..." He leaned in to whisper in Adam's ear. "It's just west of downtown. It will miss us. It is going to be alright." He gave Adam the weather update, then kissed him.
Adam nodded. "You're good for them, Dean. James is even more confident. Normally by now, Jade would be hysterical. I'm even calmer than usual. I don't know how it happened, but I am so glad you tip toed so softly into our lives. I love you, Dean Ambrose, so very much." Adam sealed his words with a kiss.
Dean grinned. "I am the lucky one. I admired you for a long time, and never thought I would ever have a chance to be with you. Thank goodness for that fundraiser. I love you, Adam Copeland. I promise to never let you, or them down. The five of you are my world now." He gave Adam another kiss. The couple then settled in and watched the children play cards.
At Randy's place, they played poker around the conference table. AJ watched the storm coverage on his laptop in between his turn to play. They weren't as close to the storm as Adam was, so he watched carefully.
Randy folded his terrible hand before a lost a bit more money. "How close is it to Gladstone?" He knew Adam would have taken the children to the storm shelter, but still, he worried.
"Close, but should pass to the west in the next ten minutes. It's a slow mover, and causing some damage. Get this, a certain mansion was in the direct path. Maybe we got lucky and they are in Oz now." AJ spoke with a chuckle as he told Randy the latest news on the tornado.
Randy laughed. "We can only hope..." He turned from AJ to Mike, who sat next to him. "You doin' alright, baby?"
Mike too had folded his hand. "Better. Thanks for...coming down here. You truly understand my fear. I know we don't do the mush, but, I love you, Ran." He spoke softly and leaned over to give Randy a kiss.
Randy caressed Mike's face with a soft smile. "I love you, Mikey." He kissed Mike in return.
The others around the table did their best to keep playing to give their boss and Mike a bit of privacy. They liked to see Randy happy, and Miz made him happy.
At the McMahon mansion, Stephanie was worried. They were still in the basement but, a few moments ago, it sounded like the house upstairs had fallen in. They had to wait before they could check it out.
Vince and his lieutenants had settled into a poker game of their own as Stephanie listened to the radio.
Vince let out one of his iconic laughs. "Maybe that whelp of mine got sucked up and blown into orbit."
As Justin studied the table, then his cards, he thought of Shane. If that was how his father treated him, Justin didn't blame Shane one bit.
Drake nudged his lover. "Hey, play, pass or fold." He nodded to the cards in Justin's hand. He held up the game.
Justin actually flushed. "Oh, sorry. I was thinking about Shane. I was trying to put myself in his shoes, where he might go." He played his hand and traded two cards.
Both Vince and Stephanie perked. It was Stephanie who spoke. "And where did those shoes take you?"
Justin wanted to throw everyone as far off the track as possible. "We've been thinking like a rich boy. If I was going to run and hide, it wouldn't be to a luxury hotel or Bed and Breakfast. I would go to a thrift store, buy the oldest clothes I could find, then go to a homeless shelter or seek out refuge with homeless people under a bridge or other places. It's easier to look poor than well off. The thing is, you can't just burst in on them, they are tightly knit. So, if you search those places, you have to be gentle and very respectful. Finn, respects to you brother, but you can be...aggressive. I'd put our street boys on to it. They would have better luck." Justin wanted to make sure Vince didn't cause problems for the homeless, but it would keep them as far from Shane as possible.
Vince nodded with respect to Justin. "Your father was certainly correct. You are a very intelligent young man. That is an excellent idea, and something Shane would do. Hide with those that he likes to help. Mister Bálor, get the street boys onto it, first thing. Spread some money or goodies."
"No, father. No money, no goodies. That would spook the homeless. Finn, do as Justin said, gentle and respectful. Now, we can go up and see if the house still has a roof." Stephanie turned off the radio, the tornado had dissipated, only the rain remained. She stood and started to leave.
Drake stopped her. "Let us go first, sir, ma'am. Just in case it is dangerous. Stay here till I call you." He lead the other lieutenants upstairs.
Vince held Stephanie back. "He is right, dear. Do you really think Shane would betray us?" It was a very rare moment, Vince allowed his emotions to show.
Stephanie laid a hand on her father's shoulder. "Yeah, dad, I do. He has no sense of loyalty. I went with him to mother's grave. He had the audacity to cry, like he had nothing to do with her death. It was all I could do not to slap him. I am honestly surprised it took him this long to betray us and run. He's not even man enough to face you. Where ever he is, I hope he is miserable. He will get what he deserves."
Vince let out a sigh, one that had been held in for years, ever since Linda's death. "I know it wasn't Shane's fault your mother died, but, she insisted on going through with his birth. So, I blamed him. He's the way he is because of me. It's my fault, Stephanie. But now, he's like a horse with a broken leg, I love him, but I have to put him down. I may have treated him badly, but he made the conscious decision to betray me. For that, Shane must die. I would be the same with you, or anyone who betrays the scared code...and worse, betrays my heart..." Vince's show of feelings ended with Finn called out to him and Stephanie to come upstairs.
Finn took the McMahon's out to the backyard. The household staff already worked on removing debris from the ruined backyard.
"That oak tree fell and sadly took out the fountain. The flower gardens are torn up, and there is some damage to the roof. All in all we are lucky. Look." Finn pointed to the house who's acre sized backyard backed into the McMahon's backyard.
Stephanie covered her mouth. The once grand mansion was nothing but a pile of stone, brick and wood. "Oh my, are the Johnson's alright?" She wasn't the least bit friendly with the others in the area, but, she hated to see the family's house destroyed like that.
Wade nodded. "Yes, they were in the basement. Rescue got them out. I've called our men in the construction business. They will be here in an hour to repair the roof, or at least make sure it won't leak if it rains again. The tree will be removed tomorrow. Ma'am I should have asked, but I promised them all a bonus to put us at number one on their lists." He hoped Vince and Stephanie would understand and not make him pay the bonus from his own pocket.
Vince held up his hand. "That's fine, Wade. I would have offered them one myself. Don't worry, my dear. Daddy will fix your waterfall fountain." Vince hated to see Stephanie near tears. She loved her little backyard paradise.
Stephanie nodded. "Thank you, daddy. It was my...thinking place. Okay, back to business. We have to prepare for taking Slater out. Sheamus, tell me what you need. The destruction of Orton begins tomorrow, and it won't come from a tornado." She was back to being a crime boss. There wasn't any time for tears. The fountain could be fixed.
At the Helmsley house, Hunter cautiously opened the sliding door with the emergency release. The power was out, so he couldn't open it normally.
"Good thing it has that emergency release." Shawn stated as Hunter slid the steel plate open.
Hunter stepped up into the garage to help his daughter and husband. "It was designed that way, in case of power loss. I mean, after all, these were designed for tornado alley. Not a lot of basements in Oklahoma."
Shawn took Megan up to her room as Hunter checked for damage to the house. Hunter went up to Megan's room a little bit later.
"Nothing damaged. A few limbs and twigs in the yard. Two lounge chairs were blown over. We got lucky again. The storms tend to follow the river to the west." Hunter filled his family in on what he'd seen.
"Good, branches and twigs I can handle. Oh, Nancy called. The storm missed her sister's place, said it barely rained. She will be here in the morning. She doesn't want to add to the traffic problems caused by the storm. I told her that was fine. I can cook supper later." Shawn spoke with relief. They had survived another tornado.
At Adam's place, Brett DiBiase checked his tree nest for damage. It had survived, but the tree had lost a few dead limbs, but not enough to reveal his cover. Brett was glad the swing set fort had held. There was a moment when he thought the roof of the fort was about to blow off.
"The power is out. Not sure how long that will last. How about if Uncle Dean makes some tomato soup and grilled cheese for supper?" Dean suggested as he and Adam settled the kids in the family den They had candles, flashlights and lanterns.
Adam grinned. "Sounds good. We have that indoor camp stove. Randy did good when he put that emergency equipment cabinet in the garage. Tell you what, if you promise to be really careful, we will camp in here till the power comes back on." He wanted to make it fun for the kids. It was still dark in the house. The steel shutters couldn't be raised till the power returned.
"I will call tomorrow to get that generator fixed. That big branch took the unit out. Camp Ambrose is open. Jordan, James, help me bring stuff in. Adam you and the girls fix things in here. It will be fun. We can sing and tell stories. Come on boys." Dean clapped his hands happily. Better to be that way than scared and upset.
Adam knew they were lucky. A few branches and a damaged generator were nothing compared to the damage reports he'd heard on the radio. He was also glad Randy had done all the things he had to keep his family safe.
At midnight, Randy got a text message from an unknown number. Something in his brain told him it was important. He opened the text with a smile, he could hear as Mike sang in the shower.
Randy's smile turned into a frown when he read the mysterious text. "Trust me, please. Do not let Heath go for coffee alone tomorrow. McM is going to put a Belfast Special on his car. McM wants to take out your C of S one at a time. I was right about Adam last time, I am right this time. Trust me."
Randy knew the text was real and he would heed the advice. Randy smiled again as he considered things. He wondered what old man McMahon and his bitch daughter would do if they knew there was a fox in the hen house.