The silver 2007 Mustang made its way into the parking lot of Florida Championship Wrestling in a slow crawl as Cody cautiously glanced around.
Luckily, the photographers were strewn around the parking lot, but not alert in any way. It seemed as though Jessica and Randy's under wraps exit from the hotel had not sent off red flags within corporate alliances.
Still, they had to be careful and as a result, Jessica was forced to put back on her wig and sunglasses, while Randy ducked in the back, waiting to exit five minutes after they had left the car.
After throwing the car in park and turning off the engine, the developmental talent tossed the keys into the backseat. "Lock it up after you leave. I don't need anyone stealing a car I rented under my own name, even if the WWE is paying for it."
Randy mumbled something inaudible to their ears as the door shut and Jessica and Cody disappeared from sight.
He groaned from his curled up position in the backseat, "She's lucky I love her… "
They passed safely through the glass doors in the front of the facility, with the paparazzi barely looking at them once. To them, it'd just seem liked another pair of wrestlers had gotten a little too into their gimmicks.
The hallway was relatively empty, so Cody figured he'd show her straight into the gym. Past a pair of light blue-painted steel doors, laid the ring.
It was bright inside the training area, but Jessica knew that nothing compared to the lights of an arena.
"Hey, Runnels…" a voice called out to him from inside the ring, causing her head to snap up. "You know the rules…"
Cody's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about, Shawn?"
"Come on, man. If I'm not allowed to, you're not allowed to," his short-haired best friend laughed.
"Allowed to WHAT?"
"Dude, you do know you're supposed to keep business and pleasure separate, right?" he continued, drawing laughs from a few of the other developmental talents.
Just not the women.
Jessica scowled and muttered under her breath, "He thinks I'm one of your bimbos."
"Shawn…" Cody warned with a slight grimace. "You don't understand."
"Oh, I know I do," he replied cockily, ducking through the ropes and hopping off the apron. "Allow me to spell this out for you, Runnels. Daddy Dusty or not, you can't bring any of your booty calls around here."
"Who the fuck are you calling a booty call, asshole?" a deep voice growled from just beyond the doorway.
Both Cody and Jessica winced at the same time, recognizing the voice. "Shit."
Shawn's brown eyes narrowed at the tall man who had spoken so boldly from beneath his sunglasses and hooded sweatshirt. "Who the fuck are you calling an asshole?"
"Shawn, knock it off!" the blue-eyed wrestler ordered firmly.
"I got this, Cody," he brushed his friend off, approaching the mystery man. "Don't think you can fucking walk in here and talk to me like that. I suggest you apologize…"
"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I suggest that you get out of my face."
Spears smirked at him, "Make me."
And without warning, the man lunged, grabbed him by the neck, and pressed him against the wall a little behind them, to his left.
"Randy, no!" Jessica called to him in anguish, rushing over to the wall. "Let him, go."
Struggling to breathe, Shawn gasped, "Randy?"
"Yeah," Randy reached up and pulled off his sunglasses, then pushed back his hood. "Randy fucking Orton. Not so tough now are you, punk?"
Jessica finally reached him and began to tug on his arm. "Randy, let him go. Come on… you've gotten so far. Don't let some stupid kid ruin your progress."
His grip loosened until he finally let go of Shawn altogether. Struggling to compose himself, he backed up about ten steps until he was next to Cody.
"I see the whore has you on a leash too," Shawn laughed, still slightly winded. "Dude, you really can't let a girl get to you… no matter how good the sex is."
Randy's eyes darkened and he starting to move forward again, but Jessica's hand stopped him.
This time, she moved forward.
"For a young man with such talent," the youngest McMahon sibling began harshly, "You really need to work on your damn attitude."
"And who the hell are you to tell me how to live my life?" he snorted in amusement.
Jessica ripped off her aviators and threw her wig on the floor, revealing to Shawn what everyone else in the room already knew by that point. "Your boss."
"Jessica?" an older man with a grayed ponytail entered from her right, through the doors. "Jessica, what's going on?"
Her eyes never left Shawn as she spoke, "Your student has an attitude problem that needs adjusting."
"Arnell!" he snapped at the young man. "You'll never learn."
"Steve, I'm going to go change…" she stated, turning to face him. "I can't wrestle in this… but when I come back, I'd like to address that attitude problem in the ring, if you don't mind."
"Hey…" he held his hands up in mock defeat. "It's your place, I just work here. I'm going to go get Dusty though, he'd love to see this."
"I'm not going to do it." Shawn shook his head vehemently as Jessica sat atop the turnbuckle.
The blonde rolled her eyes. "Is it because I'm your boss?"
"No, it's because you're a girl," he replied with a chuckle. "And I'm not going to beat up a girl."
"Honey," a feminine voice laughed at him from across the room with a hint of a southern twang. "I could kick your ass from here to Tallahassee. This one here could kick your sorry ass to Stamford and back."
Jessica turned her head and caught sight of the redheaded woman in her seventies who was now standing behind Cody's father. Instantly, a smile crept across her face. "Lillian."
"In the flesh, darlin,'" she winked, standing beside Nora Greenwald and Walter Kowalski, who must have arrived in the last few minutes, as well.
Her eyes falling on the man who taught her virtually everything she knew, she smiled and hopped off of the turnbuckle to walk towards him.
"Jessica," he grinned at her in his heavy accent. "It's good to see you."
"You too," the blonde replied happily, hugging his massive frame.
"Enough with the hugging," he chuckled loudly, as though he was a giant. "It has been too long since I saw you in the ring in my presence. This old man wants to see his student again."
Her hazel eyes sparkled as she nodded and returned to the ring. "So, Shawn… you ready?"
"Okay…" he shrugged, making his way towards the center of the ring. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The developmental talents of FCW began to crowd around the ring. Some were seated in chairs, others stood together against walls, anxious to catch a glimpse of The Rebel in person.
Her on-screen persona was fierce, often vindictive when it came to protecting those she loved. Yet, her backstage reputation was that of a kind and caring individual who had a true passion for the business.
Then again, everyone's gimmick in wrestling has some sort of root in their personality.
Jessica smoothed down her black Soffe shorts, made sure that her black sports bra top was tight to her body, and walked to the center of the ring.
Kevin Keenan, dressed in regular street clothes instead of zebra stripes, met both Shawn and Jessica in the middle.
"Alright, this is a shoot fight," he explained, crouching slightly. "Normal rules apply. Shawn," Kevin turned to address him. "Lay off the hair. Jessica," he added, facing her this time, "You throw a low blow, I will DQ you. Got it?"
Both nodded… and then the bell rang.
The pair locked up, with Shawn taking control rather smugly. But in his cockiness, came weakness.
The blonde elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to loosen the hold. Immediately, she reached up and locked her hands around his neck, flipping him over her body and onto the mat.
Embarrassed, he shot up from the mat and grumbled, prepared to lock up again.
Once they did, Shawn's frustration got the best of him. Focused on proving his strength, he left his midsection wide open. Jessica kicked him in the stomach and hit a head scissor.
A few of the guys around the ring were laughing and the Divas-in-training were giggling at the scene before them.
Shawn Spears was getting his ass handed to him… by a girl.
"Come on, let's go…" he yelled at her harshly.
"I thought we were going," Jessica smirked at him, running a hand through her hair and then placing it on her hips.
"No," he replied with a shake of his head. "You were going. I was taking it easy on you. Now, we're going to go for real."
The Diva chuckled as he stood before her flustered. "Okay. Let's go."
After another lockup, Jessica managed to back him into the ropes, causing him to rocket forward. Upon his ricochet, she dropkicked him, knocking the wind from his body with harsh force.
Caught off-guard by the force of her assault, she was able to bound off the ropes again and land a moonsault.
Shawn was still laying on his back in the ring. The beating he had taken thus far had really taken its toll on him.
Internally, she laughed with a sick sense of satisfaction at making him pay.
But he hadn't paid enough yet. So she started to climb the turnbuckle in order to do something she hadn't done in a very long time.
Nora's eyes widened and she leaned in towards Walter, "Do you think she's going to…"
"Yes," he cut her off with a nod.
Propelling herself into the air, Jessica's body corkscrewed 450 degrees in the air before settling on Shawn's prone body.
The blonde bounced back with ease and Randy could swear he saw her laugh a little when she got to her feet.
"Oh, she's such a bitch," he laughed, prompting Cody to turn to him quizzically.
"What are you talking about?"
His emerald eyes glinted as he turned towards him with a smirk. "I know what she's going to do next."
By the time Cody's eyes returned towards his boss in the ring, Shawn was contorted into the Rebel Rising and fighting with himself not to make a sound.
He watched as he bit his lips to the point before they bled, just so he didn't have to admit he was wrong.
And then, after what seemed like hours, Shawn did what he had sworn he wouldn't do: he tapped.
The youngest of Vince McMahon's children shot off of her opponent without the slightest hint of emotion, in stark contrast to the rest of her match.
She slipped through the ropes silently and hopped off of the ring apron.
But over the low clapping of the trainees in the room, came a louder voice belonging to someone who hadn't been in the room before.
"Since when did you start using the corkscrew-inverted STF combo again?"
Her hazel eyes shot up, hoping that they'd reveal her ears had deceived her.
But judging by the murderous look on the face of Randy Orton and the horrified expression crossing Cody Runnels's features, Jessica McMahon knew neither her eyes nor her ears were wrong.
"Dwayne!" Dusty exclaimed brightly at the half-Samoan standing a few feet in front of the metal doors, dressed in a pair of warm-up pants and a navy Nike tank top. "I'm glad you could make it!"
Cody immediately rushed beside her while his father's back was turned. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I… I didn't know."
Her eyes fluttered shut lightly. "It's okay, I know you didn't."
She could vaguely hear Dusty talking to Dwayne and if she had focused in on the conversation a little more, she was sure she could have figured out what they were saying. But she didn't really care.
By the time they opened again, Randy was already at her side.
"Let's get you out of here," he grumbled, lightly grasping her bare arm.
"No." She shook him off. "I can't, Randy. I can't run from this forever. I need to stay. I'm here to teach and teach is what I'm going to do."
"Jessica…" Randy sighed. "You already taught that Spears kid a lesson and in doing so, taught everyone else something in the process. You've done enough."
She ran a hand over her face. "I'm staying."
It was clear that there was no budging room in her decision. Jessica was adamant about sticking it out, so that was what she was going to do.
Randy knew better than to fight with Jessica, especially over something she was already dead-set on.
But there was someone else he could fight with.
"Hey, I have an idea," Randy announced loudly, commanding the attention of everyone else in the room. "You've seen a rookie take on a veteran in a shoot match. You want to see a veteran take on another veteran in a shoot match?"
Excitement began to pass around the room infectiously.
"Good," he smirked satisfactorily and looked towards Dusty. "Dwayne… let's go."
"Randy," Jessica addressed her best friend weakly as he was rolling his ankles to stretch them out. "You don't have to do this."
"I know." He nodded and then glanced across the room at his opponent. "But I want to."
And just like the younger of the friends knew not to pick a fight with the other, the older of the pair knew that there were certain things Randy Orton was going to do, no matter what she said.
This was one of them.
"Alright, Orton," Dwayne called to him as he walked up the steps into the ring. "I only had ten minutes with you in the ring in '04. Let's see if you've gotten any better."
Randy leered at him as he followed the path into the ring. "Let's see if you still remember what you're doing."
The wrestler-turned-actor let out a low chuckle and prepared to lock up in the ring.
Kevin re-entered the squared circle and informed the men of the same rules he had previous told Jessica and Shawn.
The bell rang again and the match began.
Randy had Dwayne in a headlock, but he was quickly forced against the ropes and broke the hold. However, he kicked the older man in the ribs, forcing him down.
But Dwayne wouldn't waver and they started trading right hands until Randy got pressed into a corner.
Kevin then broke it up and Randy shoved Dwayne off of him.
And that was when the match turned into something else completely.
The amused smile on Dwayne's face quickly faded and morphed into an intense glare. He backed up a few paces, extended his arm, and opened and closed his hand three times.
Two third-generation wrestlers were standing in the ring, eyes smoldering with rage as they stared at each other, neither willing to waver.
But one was ready to strike first… and his name was Randy Orton.
In a matter of moments, Randy had launched himself across the ring and speared Dwayne down to the mat.
Fists went flying, no open hands. Just fists.
Within sixty seconds, there was blood on the mat. Within one-hundred and twenty seconds, there was blood everywhere.
Soon, Randy and Dwayne's brawl had rolled off of the ring apron and onto the gym mats below the square.
The jet black mats were slowly turning crimson like scarlet across a night sky and as her hazel orbs fell upon them, Jessica McMahon lost it.
"STOP IT!" she shrieked, lunging towards them, only to be grabbed by a pair of strong arms.
"Jessica, come on," the young man who held her within his grasp tried to contain her. "Dad! Steve! Do something!"
Both men stood in a stunned stupor beside the ring. What could they possibly do?
"Cody, let me go!" the blonde screamed, writhing in his arms like a banshee until he couldn't hold onto her any longer and she ripped herself from his arms.
Immediately, he chased after her. "Jess!"
"Randy!" Jessica yelled, pulling at his arm covered in blood. "Stop it, please."
Just then, Dwayne turned, getting the edge over Randy as he started to lay into him, causing more blood to flow.
"Dwayne," she plead with him. "Stop. You're hurting him. Please!"
But he continued to ignore her, as Randy had done.
Finally, Jessica threw herself at him, grabbing at both arms and pulling as hard as she could until he realized it was her behind him.
And then, he relented.
"Randy," she gasped, her red-stained hands shaking as she scurried over towards him. "Randy, oh God."
"I'm okay," he assured her weakly through gritted teeth as she placed his head onto her lap.
Her porcelain hand grazed over his tanned face, brushing some of the blood away from his eyes.
"Thank you," he panted, his once-tense body loosening up.
Jessica's eyes examined his face closely. "There's so much. I-I don't know where it's all coming from."
"I'll be alright," Randy waved a hand feebly at her. "I'm just a little dizzy, that's all. It'll subside."
She glanced up to assess the situation around her and found a less bloody Dwayne Johnson being attended to on the other side of the room.
Cody was nowhere to be found and had most likely gone to get the medical attendant in his office, who would probably call the EMT's for assistance.
"This is my fault," she shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Randy."
"Stop it, Jess," he told her, shaking her sentiment off. "This wasn't your fault. This was half my fault and half his. You know us men and our testosterone."
She nodded and wiped away at a tear.
"I'm sorry."
Jessica tilted her head to the side. "For what?"
A smile twitched at the corners of his lips. "I'm bleeding all over you."
In response, she could only smile back at him sadly. "Your blood is the least of my problems."
A/N: The you-know-what has OFFICIALLY hit the fan. That's all I can really say at this point.
This is basically part two of this trip to Tampa. Chapter 16 is part three of the trip.
And by the way, the chapter schedule is back on track. There will be 21 chapters in this story.
Shout-outs:
Westfan – I know that in this chapter, Randy equals supreme awesomeness in this chapter. I had such a good time visiting you in West Newbury last week! Although, I had such a scare with David yesterday. We'll talk about it later. Hope Dave is doing better!
Da-Real-Mrz-Cena102100 – Randy and Cody are funny together. They're a lot more similar than you know… and you'll see it in SAR IV.
Dreamin'BIG – I bet you didn't see Randy and Dwayne brawling it out.
Sideways anger – Ah. New Years. What a big part it will play in the ending of this story. And now you know why Cody owes her.
OneandOnlyHardyGirl – She is a scary lady when she wants to be. I hope this chapter lived up to the cliffhanger.
Wrestlenascargirl – Thanks for reading it again! I just did it myself! Another McCena vote!
Cena-holic8 – The McRock pairing is kind of… like forbidden fruit in that it used to be taboo, but not, not so much. So now that the opportunity is there, it's kind of hard for her to resist.
Nic-002001 – She DOES get it done! Hey, you've got a 50/50 shot at a McCena reunion. And yeah, tabloids are fun.
ThatGirl54 – Thank you! It was fun to write that out. Haha. Randy is a funny, funny man. But in this chapter, he's a bloody, bloody man.
FrequentlyDazzled619 – Happy New Year to you too. Ugh, I'll take a kiss from the guy I like at school at this point.
Enigmatic Lotus Leaf – It was creative, wasn't it? It was fun to write Jess as a biker chick. She was inspired by Britney Spears's waitress persona in the Womanizer video. Cena will possibly come into play a little next chapter. Definitely in Chapter 17. I think 18 will be all about Jessica.
iNdy MiLk – Was this big enough for you? And yes, there will be a fourth. And that will be the last one.
Sambolina – I used her middle name, which I LOVE. So I thought it'd be a way to clue you guys in without giving too much away.
Goddessofthenite – Was it now? I go back on Sunday.
CandaceMcMahon – NOW all hell has broken loose. Thanks for reading… and it's no problem. I get being busy. I go back to school on Sunday.
Purplefeather21 – Cody will always have a special place in my heart. You'll get an update on Samantha in the next chapter. Part three of the Tampa Trip (Chapter 16) will be mostly all Rock/Jessica.
Chain Gang Princess – Thank you! And yes, those three together are awesome. Cody and I are facebook friends. We're bff's, lol.
Thanks again to everyone for reviewing and I hope that the '09 school year treats you all well.
And since this chapter will get review 300, I just wanted to send out a huge amount of gratitude to all of you. I never expected She's a Rebel to be as popular as it is… and certainly didn't expect to have this much interest in the continuation of her life. The amount of praise you all have given me is truly humbling and I am flattered that you all write to me, telling me how long you sit on the edge of the chair, waiting for a review, or how you think of me when reading about John, Randy, Cody, The Rock, etc.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.
Danielle