The atmosphere was anything but pleasant and sweet. Rats constantly scurried on the floor and on the walls. The floors were dingy grey for so long, no one remembered what the original color was. The drapery was torn and barely hanging onto already broken rods. The house was not a shack but it was far from being a home. It was dirty, filthy even. The yard was unkempt and anything that was broken remained that way.
It was Champagne Hill. It was the home that the Brood built.
Edge was in his makeshift study, a room that used to be a bathroom and still functioned as one whenever there was an available corner. He was replaying the satellite video camera on the Family's home. He was not able to get close enough for audio or zoom in to lip read. But he knew Dave and Trish were up to something. He could smell it. He could taste it. I wonder what they're up to.
He rewound the tape to study Trish and Dave's interactions. She was standing between his legs and her arms were draped over his shoulders. They were laughing and talking as if there was not a care in the world. With Trish officially living with the Family, there was no way to get to her. Nevertheless, Edge was determined to find any weakness. Moreover, he knew there was one—he just had to find one.
Just when he was getting to rewind the tape yet again, Edge was interrupted by the arguing and shouting that accompanied the fellow Brood members. Edge tried to ignore the bickering but it was to no avail. All of the Brood members were determined to blame each other for what went awry.
Lilian was the perfect counterpart to Melina. Also small and fiery, Lilian often portrayed herself as a damsel in distress to get her victims. One by one, she would eat men alive as she pretended to be lost, had a flat tire, or just needed some company. With her doe brown eyes, shiny blonde hair and warm demeanor, it was no surprise she was considered to be the mother of the Brood.
Carlito was the answer to London. He, too, had a sarcastic reply for everything. He was Edge's right hand man and always killed his victims with a smile that hinted that he was getting more than a simple satisfaction. He had a youthful face and street smarts that kept him connected to the streets. His hair was a wild mane, consisting part afro and part massive hair ball. He had soft eyes and full lips that warmed the girl's hearts—and their veins.
Finally, there was Jeff. Like his nemesis Nitro, Jeff was very quiet and often did his own thing. However, his demeanor stood out the most in the Brood. He painted and wrote poetry about life and the living. He constantly dyed his hair to match whatever mood he was feeling and was often in deep thought.
"It was your damn fault, Carlito!" Lilian screamed.
"My damn fault? I wasn't the one who made like Superman and went flying, ya dumb shit." Carlito scoffed.
"Yeah, because you were real big with that toy knife you had." Lilian retorted.
"I think both of you are stupid." Jeff said quietly as he walked upstairs to his room.
Carlito and Lilian looked at each other and then turned on Jeff. "It's your damn fault!" They said in unison.
Suddenly, the Brood was quiet when a cold chill entered the room. No one could ever understand if he brought the chill factor with him or it just happened to be cold at the place he was coming from. But it didn't matter. Once he entered the room, all eyes were on him and all thoughts were quickly silenced.
His dark blonde hair was wet and framed his face. His jaw line was rugged and sharp with heavy eyes and a protruding nose. His physique was massive, comprising of a statuesque figure. He never spoke much but when he did, it was always pertinent to whatever situation present. He cynically laughed at the mere torture of his victims and often thought of new ways to kill them. He could change his persona from a high school jock to an executive to the guy next door with supreme agility.
His name spoke for how he acquired his victims: Hunter.
He walked to the Brood members and looked them over. With a sneer, he said one word. "Go." He directed.
The Brood members quickly hurried to their rooms and closed the doors behind them. Hunter walked over to Edge and pointed him to sit at the dining room table. Edge rolled his eyes and reluctantly sat down. "I know what you're about to say, man and…"
Hunter held up a hand to silence Edge. Just as Taker was mentor to the Family, Hunter was mentor to the Brood. His sharp mind never slept and the Brood members often wondered if Hunter actually did sleep. His commanding presence still brought a frostiness to Edge, despite the fact that he has known Hunter for close to 200 years.
"I just have one question tonight," Hunter began to say, "How?"
"Man, look…"
"I mean, how were you able to fuck up such a simple task? It's not that hard, Edge. It really isn't. You were supposed to kill the roommate. But did you? No, you didn't. Instead, you genially thought to turn her. But can she kill? No, she can't." Hunter smiled and shook his head. "Wow, I should really kill your ass for being so stupid."
"Hey, I thought she would get Trish and we'll be able to get into the Family, alright?" Edge defended. "I knew what I was doing, Hunter."
"No, you didn't know what you were doing because the Brood got their asses handed to them by some hyena-screaming bitch, a pussy, and a porn-freak—not that there's anything wrong with that—but you get the point."
"I know, alright?" Edge raised his voice. "I'm working on a plan."
Hunter raised an eyebrow. "What genius plan is this? How to Get Your Ass Whipped, Part Two?"
"Look, Hunter, I'll handle it, alright?"
Hunter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just like how you handled tonight with such class and precision."
"I wasn't there to watch them!" Edge defended.
"And that argument is supposed to convince me, how?" Hunter asked as he shook his head. "There's a weakness with them. You just need to find that weakness."
"Well, duh." Edge said before Hunter slapped the back of his head. "You're telling me shit that I already know, man."
"Oh really? Then what is the weakness?" Hunter asked.
"Well, it's…well, it's…"
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Hunter said. "There is one thing that will make all of them—including Batista, Rock and Taker—fall to their knees. Something that will shake the core of the Family. "
"Easier said than done, Hunter." Edge commented. He then turned to him. "Do you know what the weakness is, by chance?"
"It's not that difficult to figure out. Just think about it. All you have to do is wait and see." Just as he arrived, Hunter disappeared into the night.
Edge sat at the dining room contemplating his next course of action. The Family had a definite weakness and it was Trish. Yet, with constant protection around her, there was no way she was going to be out of Dave's sight for long. Edge shook his head as he realized Trish was the most obvious answer. There was more to the solution; something that was not obviously present.
Suddenly, Edge smiled big as he recognized the answer. Perfect. This will bring the Family down once and for all. Edge leaned back into his chair and put his feet on the table. He went over the answer again in his head to make sure it was correct and there was not a single doubt. And with its arrival, Edge was determined to destroy the Family once and for all.