Chapter 21

"Morning." Tahlia greeted at a quarter to 7 AM the following morning, holding two cups of hot java and handed one over to a dead looking Shane McMahon. "Wow, did you sleep at all?" He shook his head and sucked down the hot coffee, making her blink. "Tell you what? I got a couple hours and I'm good to go, so I'll drive." The limousines were only for show, thankfully, and they would be taking a regular vehicle to the next area. "You can get some more shuteye since it's a 3-hour drive. Sound good, boss?"

"Sounds great, but what will my poor driver do without me?" Shane hated driving when he was working. "Paperwork."

He held up the briefcase with a sigh. "I have more to do." Vince usually had his assistants do all this for him, but he had insisted Shane do it all himself. Learn the ropes, he had said. Shane would appreciate all the work it took to run this beast of a company.

"Mmm, coffee." He took a slow, cautious sip before grinning at Tahlia. "I like a woman who brings me coffee, keep it up and I might follow you home."

Tahlia smirked, not realizing Shane had a personal driver and shrugged, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. "Would that be such a bad thing? Come on, we need to get on the road. If you want, I can try to help you with the paperwork."

Becoming a wrestler wasn't cheap and required a lot of money for training courses. So she worked full-time as a secretary and trained at night. Sleep was non-existent, but it'd been worth it when she was signed to the WWF.

"By the way, I wanna thank you for last night. You didn't have to help me and…it means a lot." Cozying up to him was the way to go if she wanted anymore information to pass onto Taker. "And you should learn to take care of yourself. You're gonna keel over like I almost did last night if you don't get proper sleep, or as much as you can anyway."

"I'll get plenty of sleep tonight." Shane reassured her, following her out the door. "And no, I got the paperwork. It's all boring stuff, it'd make you yawn and crash the car." It wasn't that it was hard, or he didn't understand it because it was easy and he did, quite well. He had been raised, trained, for this, to eventually join his father in running the company. If Vince had his way, run it someday solo, a legacy deal. It was just tedious. "After you, Tallie." He grinned when she raised an eyebrow.

"Don't say I didn't offer, Shane."

Tahlia knew better than to call him Mr. McMahon since his father went by that and flashed a heart-stopping smile back at him. She wore blue jeans and a long sleeved burnt orange top, her hair pulled back in a messy bun, face makeup free. There was no need to impress Shane since Tahlia already had him on the hook. Traveling with him was step one. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to sleep with him in order to get information for Taker, but if that's what it took…she would do it. Shane wasn't the worst choice to have sex with – at least it wasn't his old man. Tahlia would have to draw the line if Taker demanded her to sleep with Vince, it would never happen. Shane – she could make an exception for. Sure enough, halfway to their destination had Shane snoring loudly while Tahlia pulled her Walkman out to listen to some Metallica.

If Shane would have known anything about Tahlia's thoughts, her potential intentions towards him, he might've actually tried tossing her out of the moving vehicle and onto the highway, knowing she'd get hit and die a potentially painful, brutal death. As he didn't, he snored away peacefully, the tedious paperwork finished and back in his bag. Where it would be ignored for the rest of the day until he needed to hand it to an aide or something.

Once Tahlia was sure Shane was fully asleep and wouldn't wake up, she slipped her headphones off setting them aside. It was just the two of them in the backseat, nobody else since the partition window was up. Reaching down, Tahlia kept her eyes focused on Shane the entire time as she pulled the paperwork out he'd been doing, knowing she didn't have much time. They had about a half hour until they arrived at the venue. Tahlia didn't know if Shane planned on going to the hotel first or straight to the arena. She hadn't bothered asking.

Sifting through the paperwork, Tahlia raised a brow and could feel her blood boiling, amber eyes flaring with golden fire. So THAT was Vince's plan…Tahlia looked over at Shane and could see him start to stir, immediately placing the paperwork back inside his bag just the way it was while seething on the inside. Just as his eyes opened, Tahlia had put her headphones back on and pressed play on her Walkman, eyes staring out the window. She had to talk to Taker immediately – he needed to hear this face-to-face and Tahlia refused to speak to anyone else about what she discovered except him.

Shane had no idea that she had gone through his stuff when he woke up. Nothing was out of place and, honestly, they were in a vehicle with other people. He doubted Tahlia had much interest in boring documents he had to sign his John Hancock on. Shane smiled as he stretched, then hid a yawn behind his hand.

"I'm sorry, I know I said I was going to fall asleep, but I didn't honestly expect to." He both laughed and apologized at the same time. "I need to learn to sleep when I can and let the paperwork slide, huh?"

"Yes you do, but I understand you wanna make a good impression on your Dad and show him you can run the company. It will be yours one day." Tahlia scooted closer to him, closing the distance and placed a gentle hand on his arm, amber eyes full of understanding and hiding all the hatred she currently felt for the McMahons. "Just between you and me, I think you've done a great job so far." Shane groaned since he'd slept wrong and began rubbing his neck before she took over, massaging the back of it gently yet with firm fingers, kneading the sore muscles. "You should take a proper nap before going to the arena tonight. You've got time."

Shane snorted at her words, though he would not deny that it felt good, her fingers massaging out the tension he hadn't known he possessed. "I have not, don't flatter me needlessly, Tallie." He chastised, though it was with a crooked smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a fax or something waiting for me, letting me know how much of a screw-up job I did. Vince is... tough when it comes to his baby." His baby being the WWF.

"I'm sure he enjoyed what you did." Especially the chokeslam she received at the hands of Kane, his current monster lackey of choice. "Don't worry so much. You can only do your best, Shane."

Tahlia continued with the encouragement, ignoring his first statement and applied a little more pressure to his neck just as they pulled up in front of the hotel. Good, she would need a shower and then figure out a way to contact Taker without being suspicious. That would be easier said than done. Then she thought back to what Mideon said, how she was being watched and wondered if there was some kind of signal she could send Taker. "Another hour of sleep won't kill you or deter your motivation." Stopping her ministration, Tahlia grabbed her bag and slid out of the car with Shane behind her, heading into the building.

"See you later, boss." Winking, she made her way to the elevator and then changed her mind, opting for the stairs instead.

She was being watched, most of the time. Taker had eyes and ears in many places, but vehicles were not one of them, not just yet. Considering when he had seen Shane getting out of that stupid limo, from his hotel window of all places, with a stupid smile on his face and rubbing the back of his neck like some kind of miracle had occurred, he had not been amused. If Tahlia was already sleeping with the McMahon Prince, then maybe he had picked her a bit too well for this job because that was some fast work. Cursing under his breath, he made his way down the stairs, planning on finding the nearest grungy bar and venting.

Just as Tahlia pushed open the door to the second floor, a hand stopped it midway and she stopped, blinking. What the hell? Then the hand came out and yanked her into the stairwell, planting her back harshly against the door. Looking up into flared acidic eyes, Tahlia lost her breath at the sight of him and being this close made her brain fuzzy.

"Taker."

Not able to stop herself, the temptation too great, Tahlia brought his mouth down on hers and passionately kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She had planned on going up to her room and calling down to his in order to set up a meeting. Fate really had a twisted sense of humor sometimes. The stairwell didn't have cameras, thankfully, and hardly anyone took the stairs when there was a perfectly working elevator. When he kissed her back with an equal amount of passion, Tahlia pressed herself against him and wondered if he'd missed her as much as she did him. The jealous prick in him was tempted to ask her if that was how enthusiastically she had kissed Shane tonight, but he tamped that down quick, knowing better than to cave into something as petty as jealousy. That was the quickest way to destroy his plans, as well as himself.

"Well..." He rumbled once they had parted, stepping away before he did something like screw her there in the hallway. "Now that that's out of the way."

"I'm not apologizing for doing that." Tahlia murmured, closing the distance between them and caressed his face with the back of her hand, feeling his hand enclose her wrist to keep it where it was. "I was about to call your room as soon as I got to mine. Taker…" Worry filled her amber eyes as Tahlia lowered them and looked around the stairwell, not sure if this was the place to tell him what she'd discovered. What if someone eavesdropped on them? "Where can we talk? It has to be just you." The urgency in her voice told him she wasn't messing around and whatever she'd found out would no doubt change his chess board.

Taker considered her thoughtfully, finally nodding and headed back upstairs. The Corporation, and anyone associated with them, had yet to check in under any name. He knew because he had made some arrangements with the hotel staff prior to checking in himself. Or, at least, Paul had on his behalf. Paying people off was easy; it was making sure one was the highest bidder that was the trick. He checked to make sure they were in the clear before crossing from stairwell to his door, which was in the corner as he preferred it. Once alone, he locked it behind them and shifted to face her, folding his arms over his chest.

"Yes?"

Instead of spilling her guts, Tahlia first checked every inch of the room to make sure they were completely alone. Not even Paul could hear this. If Taker wanted to divulge the information to his confidante at a later time, that was on him. Once satisfied, Tahlia finally walked over to close the window shades and gripped them tightly in her hands, not sure how Taker would react to what she was about to tell him.

"Just remember, I'm only the messenger and did what you asked of me, sir." His strong hands planted on her shoulders as Tahlia sucked in a sharp breath, slowly turning until concerned amber met confused green. "The Brood – there's a mole working for the Corporation. I know you just recruited them, but…it was in the paperwork Shane McMahon had on him. I took a peek and…they're paying Gangrel a lot of money, more than necessary…to take you down. As long as he's in the Ministry, you're not safe, Taker. He's been betraying you from the beginning and…I don't know about Edge and Christian yet. They weren't mentioned in the documents, only Gangrel."

Somehow, that wasn't surprising at all. Gangrel had always struck him as a shifty son of a bitch. The way the other man was always eyeballing everyone, the speculation and greed in those eyes had been plain. Not to mention, the way he had treated Christian; that was a relationship Taker very rarely contemplated because it was weird and not something Christian seemed very pleased with. Now that he was considering it, however, Christian was a potential way to get to Gangrel if the need arose. Taker made his way to the mini-bar and poured himself a healthy measure of bourbon, contemplating her.

"Hmm." He squeezed her shoulders, meant to be reassuring and turned away from her. "How close are you with McMahon? Is he beginning to trust you?"

Use her, more to the point. He fully expected McMahon to use her, on every level, just because that was what McMahon's did. There was no denying that Tahlia was a valuable piece of property right now.

"He seems to think we're friends and has confided in me how much he thinks he sucks running the company. His father has no faith in him, they're on the outs." Tahlia answered promptly, knowing this was purely business and pushed any amount of lust or feeling for her master out of her mind for the moment. Taker was getting comfortable, they would be here a while and she had a feeling he would tell her what to do with Shane next. "Honestly, I think he's done a splendid job compared to his old man. I think Vince is scared of losing his company to his heir. Too bad you couldn't sway Shane to your side, that would definitely put a kink in Vince's plan to destroy the Ministry…"

Sway Shane to his side… now there was an idea and Taker had to wonder just how much faith Tahlia had in her own assessment of the McMahon Prince. He did notice, with some annoyance, that she thought rather highly of Shane. Taker leaned against the bar, taking a slow sip of his drink before gesturing her towards him. He watched as Tahlia made her way to join him, pouring her a drink of her own. Regardless of how Shane and his father felt about each other right now, that could all change in a heartbeat. Families were such strange, fragile things.

"What are your thoughts, on 'swaying' Shane to our side, hmm? Think it could be done?" Because he did value her opinion, to an extent, more so then others in his Ministry.

"If you're going to do it, he'll want something big in return. From what he's told me, he just wants Daddy to accept him and if I could convince him otherwise…it's possible…" At Taker's raised brow, Tahlia smiled and took a long sip of her bourbon. The slight burn down her esophagus was a welcoming distraction from the man sitting in front of her. "You gave me the task of getting closer to McMahon and I intend to see it through. I'll focus on that while you deal with Gangrel. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but…don't trust anyone, Taker." Her eyes locked on acid as her hand slid across his up his tattooed sleeved arm to gently knead his bicep. "I don't know who you can trust in the Ministry right now. And from now on, I report only to you. If you want to tell the others, including Brother Paul, about my findings, that's your decision. But I don't trust anyone in the Ministry right now, not after discovering Gangrel's deceit. And I…I don't want anything happening to you."

Tahlia would never forget overhearing the Corporation's plan to literally kill Taker in his hotel room. If she hadn't overheard that information and warned him…she immediately pushed that thought out of her mind and downed the rest of her bourbon. He couldn't help smirking slightly, his lips curving upwards sardonically as he regarded her and her words. Refilling both their tumblers, it wouldn't do to send her packing drunk, but then again, maybe it would.

"Don't trust anybody." He repeated slowly, letting it sink it as his eyes narrowed. "Tahlia, precious, should that include you as well?" Taker kept his tone conversational, but there was a hint of a rumble in there, thunder. "You were never meant to report to anyone but me." He informed her flatly, though her distrust of Paul was rather annoying. "Paul, if I cannot be reached. Of everyone in my Ministry, I trust him. Above all." Including her. "Worry less for me. Gangrel will be dealt with." He would sort of the particulars of that while she focused on Shane. "Though…" Taker inwardly sighed, wondering how to word his thoughts and what she probably needed to hear. "Your concern is… noted." He was about to say appreciated, but it seemed wrong coming from him, of all people.

It took a minute for his teasing question to penetrate her mind due to what he said afterwards. She wasn't supposed to report to anyone except him and Brother Paul? What?! Tahlia's mind raced, remembering Mideon coming to her claiming it was on the master's orders. Did he lie to her? Or maybe Taker forgot about it…no, Taker didn't forget anything. That was one trait about him that was both intriguing and annoying. He was always one step ahead of his opponents and almost nothing happened without him knowing about it already.

"Fuck." Tahlia cursed, slamming the tumbler of bourbon down on the bar and stepped away from Taker, tearing a hand through her hair. "That stupid…" She had to stop and breathe, clenching her fists tightly at her sides and shut her eyes, trying to simmer her blazing temper. It took a lot to piss Tahlia off, but being blatantly lied to was a surefire way of making her temper soar. "You didn't send Mideon a few nights ago to my hotel room for an update, did you?" It was a flat statement. She didn't need confirmation to know the answer. "Son of a bitch!"