Dark Saviour
Chapter 34 - A New Battlefield
….
Jeff sat at a huge table that had been erected in a spare locker room specifically for this meeting, looking around at the occupants of the other chairs. Matt sat to his left while both Shawn and Rey sat on his right. Edge sat at the other end of the table, his head in his hands as though he had a headache, was tired or, possibly, he was extremely upset. Vicky sat opposite of Edge, her eyes betraying her calm demeanor. Vince had called all six of them personally to attend this emergency meeting. Upon seeing so few people in the room, they realized Vince wanted to keep it all a secret. As to why the six of them, specifically, were called, they could only guess at.
Jeff put his own head in his hands, trying desperately to pull himself together. He really didn't need Matt, or the other superstars for that matter, see him fall apart right now. He really loved his brother but he didn't need the extra attention he would receive as a result. Jeff got enough attention already. Getting lost in his thoughts, Jeff jumped along everybody else as the door was opened. The group turned in expectation of seeing Vince storm into the room, however, they all stared dumbfounded as the Big Red Machine appeared.
Kane looked up at the expectant faces as he raised a brow of confusion. "You all waiting for me?"
There was a collective sigh as the group let out the breath they had been holding.
"Sorry, Glen," Rey apologized. "We're still waiting on Vince. We thought you were him."
"Geez, when did Vince get scarier then me?" Kane chuckled, trying to ease the tension. Seeing his attempt failed, he shrugged instead. "So, I gather I'm not late."
They all nodded in a collective agreement. They all knew what happened to a person who was late to an emergency meeting or withheld important information from Vince. No one in the room wanted to receive the unimaginable punishment Vince would have in store for the individual staying silent in this situation.
Kane stared at the gloomy bunch before taking a seat between Edge and Shawn. "So," he said, trying to break the silence. "Why are we here?"
"You mean you don't know?" Jeff asked in disbelief.
"Should I?" Kane replied, leaning back in his chair.
"How could you not?" Matt interjected. "Didn't Vince tell you?"
"I didn't really listen to the voice message he left me," Kane shrugged. "I've been busy."
"Mark's apparently disappeared on us," Edge answered calmly, not raising his head to look at the group.
"He apparently disappeared?" Kane asked, his brow furrowed slightly. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"It means Vince is royally pissed and some heads are going to roll," Edge replied, his tone dead.
"Nice way of telling him," Rey replied sarcastically.
Edge merely shrugged his shoulders, still not meeting anyone's gaze. "It's not like anyone else was volunteering the information."
"I'm sure Mark's just riding around somewhere with his cell turned off as usual," Kane said, putting his hands behind his head.
"You mean he didn't tell you what he was doing?" Jeff asked, staring at the bigger man.
"If he didn't tell you what he was doing, what makes you think he would tell me?" Kane replied, his brow rose slight at Jeff's question.
"You're his brother," Jeff retorted.
"Doesn't mean that you don't out rank me in the emotional department."
Jeff fell silent at that, his gaze dropping to focus on his hands. Kane made a good point. Blood ties weren't always as strong as emotional ones.
But could the Deadman really have an emotional tie to me? Jeff thought, his brow furrowing slightly, not noticing the looks that Kane and him were receiving.
"Either way, Vince isn't happy with Mark at the moment," Rey stated, clearing his throat slightly to break the silence.
"Let's just hope he shows up soon," Shawn replied as he glanced quickly at Rey. Both men were thinking the exact same thing and neither liked what those thoughts meant.
Thankfully he's only missing, Rey thought, gripping Shawn's hand tightly under the table. Shawn smiled at him weakly as both men remembered the last time someone had disappeared the year before. They both hoped that Undertaker showed up and didn't make history repeat itself.
Kane shook his head at the dismal group. "Come on, guys. Do you honestly think that Mark would let something bad happen to him?"
Shawn nodded in silent agreement. "You're right, Glen. Mark's one of the strongest guys here. He can take care of himself."
"Even if he is the strongest guy around, even he would have trouble if he was ambushed," Jeff thought aloud without realizing it.
"What's that supposed to mean, Jeff?" Matt asked, staring at his brother in confusion.
"What's what supposed to mean?" Jeff replied, shaking his head. "I didn't say anything."
"What do you mean that Mark could have been ambushed?" Rey asked.
"What are you not telling us, Hardy?" Vicky said, finally breaking her silence.
"I've told you everything I know," Jeff answered as he looked around the table, hoping his eyes didn't betray his fear.
"I believe that you are lying to me."
Every head turned to see Vince standing in the doorway, almost glaring at the younger Hardy. Jeff swallowed slowly as he felt himself shrink away from the piercing gaze.
"Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me everything this time?" Vince said calmly as he took his seat at the head of the table.
"I already told you everything," Jeff replied, his eyes darting between Vince and Matt since both men seemed to be hovering over him. "There's nothing else to tell."
"If you did tell me everything, then you wouldn't have said something that I have not heard, nor thought of, before," Vince retorted, his voice rising slightly, indicating how upset he really was.
"What did you mean that Mark could have been ambushed?" Kane asked, interrupting Vince before he could tear into the younger Hardy in his frustration.
"I . . . I was just thinking that if he was attacked by multiple people that . . . only then might he not be . . . be strong enough to take them all on," Jeff answered slowly, trying to choose his words carefully.
"What makes you think he'd be attacked by multiple people?" Vicky inquired.
Jeff opened his mouth to respond then stopped. How could he answer that without giving away what had happened to him? What had been done to him?
"I'm waiting for an explanation, Hardy," Vince said as he drummed his fingers on the table.
"I . . ." Jeff paused, before sighing, "I don't know."
"Bull shit," Edge snorted, finally lifting his gaze to stare at Jeff.
Jeff looked up at Edge, meeting the Rated-R Superstar's gaze. "I'm telling the truth."
"Sure you are," Edge muttered, rolling his eyes. "That totally explains why Mark wanted to leave in the first place."
"Do you know something that you're not sharing with me, Copeland?" Vince asked, his gaze narrowing on the younger man.
Edge turned his smug gaze to the Chairman. "No, sir. I just know that Mark had something on his mind when he left at One Night Stand."
"Do you know what that was?" Vicky asked, her brow rose in expectation at the World Heavy Weight Champion.
"If I knew that, I would have told you," Edge said, rolling his eyes.
Kane leaned forward in his chair to stare at the smaller man. "You must have some clue. You spent enough time with him those last few weeks."
Shawn shook his head. "Stop hounding the poor guy. If he doesn't know then he doesn't know."
"I don't care if I have to threaten everyone on the roaster," Vince growled. "I will get to the bottom of this."
"And we all understand that," Rey replied, his voice calm. "We just don't know what could have happened to Mark."
"I was hoping by calling you here that we'd be able to figure out something. I don't want to have a repeat of what happened last year."
"None of us do," Shawn whispered. "The WWE can't handle another hit like that. Let alone with someone as . . . dominant as The Undertaker."
Kane leaned back in his chair. "So, what do we do now?"
Vince sat back in his chair, his hands by his lips as he thought about the situation. "Someone here knows what happened to him."
Rey shook his head. "If anyone here knew what happened to him, we would have said something."
"I'm not just talking about the seven of you around the table," Vince retorted, his gaze going to Rey. "I'm talking about the entire roaster."
"The roaster is big," Matt nodded. "Chances are someone knows something."
"So, the question is, who would be talking to Mark enough to know what's happened to him?" Vicky said, her eyes focused on the table in thought.
"It's hard to say," Kane shrugged. "He has never let anyone get close to him, not like he let Jeff."
"There must have been someone," Vicky sighed, shaking her head.
Kane smirked. "I don't think so."
"Then what do you think?" Vince snapped, losing his patience.
Kane's smile faded slightly as his gaze narrowed. "More then you want to or will ever know," he replied, sending a chill down the Chairman's spine.
Shawn, Rey, Jeff and Matt all smiled at Kane's declaration. He was about the only guy, save Undertaker, who could talk to the Chairman that way and live to tell about it.
Vince rubbed at his eyes in frustration. "If he ends up dead or something . . . I'll have your heads," he said bitterly as he got up and turned to leave. Once he reached the door, he turned to look at Vicky. "I trust that you will fix the main event match to exclude the Deadman."
"Yes, sir," Vicky nodded.
Jeff looked at Matt, his eyes full of concern. "Mark wouldn't really miss his return match, would he?"
Matt shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what he's doing."
….
Jeff walked down the hallway of the arena, trying to figure out what could have happened to make Undertaker miss his return match. But no matter how hard he tried, there was only one conclusion he could think of. Sighing heavily, Jeff tried desperately to rid himself of that nightmare. He knew that Cena had his hidden allies, but were there seriously that many of them, that were strong enough, that they could take the Deadman on directly? Jeff seriously doubted it. However, he could not shake the nagging feeling that he was missing something. As Jeff looked ahead of him, he noticed Edge leaving a nearby room, his eyes cast downward in concentration.
"Hey!" Jeff called out, jogging over to where Edge stood.
Edge looked at Jeff, his face blank. "What do you want?"
"You know what's happened to Mark," Jeff stated matter-of-factly.
"I know nothing."
"Bull shit," Jeff snapped.
"How would you know?"
"Because I know you know why he left in the first place."
Edge shook his head. "I don't know why he left."
"Bull shit," Jeff snapped again.
"Look, keep your voice down," Edge replied, his eyes darting around the hallway.
"Why should I?" Jeff asked, lowering his voice slightly for the moment.
Edge shook his head. "Because I don't like people yelling at me."
"What are you scared of?"
"I'm not scared of anything."
"Don't lie to me, okay," Jeff replied, shaking his head in frustration. "I know that Mark got close to you for some reason before he left. Now what did he get you to do for him?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Edge replied, looking away nervously.
"Of course you don't."
"Look, I don't know what you think was going on between us . . ."
"I don't even want to begin to think of what was going on between you two," Jeff retorted. "I just want some sort of . . ."
"Of closure?" Edge finished.
"Yes," Jeff nodded weakly.
Edge shook his head, "Mark had his own reason's for leaving and I can't tell you why."
"Why not?"
"Because he told me not to," Edge answered simply. "And I'm not about to have him come and attack me while I sleep because I told you."
"I need to know."
"I can't, Jeff. I just can't," Edge shook his head, backing away from the smaller man. "I'm not scared of you enough to tell you."
"I don't want to scare you," Jeff replied slowly. "I just want to understand."
"Good, cause you'd never beat Mark in that department," Edge stated as he left Jeff standing alone in the hallway.
"Adam!" Jeff called after him.
"See you around, Jeff."
Just as Jeff was about to run after him, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Turning around, he felt his stomach twist into a knot as he met Cena's gaze. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't help but over hear your conversation with Adam," Cena answered simply, his hand still on Jeff's shoulder.
"Bug off," Jeff retorted, shaking off Cena's hand before walking away.
"It's not that simple," Cena replied, taking hold of Jeff's wrist to prevent him from leaving.
"Let go," Jeff growled softly, glaring at Cena.
Cena merely smiled at Jeff's glare. "And miss a chance to talk about the new World Heavy Weight Championship match?"
Jeff looked away from Cena. "The match will go on as scheduled."
"Really? That's not what I've heard."
"What do you know?"
"I know that Mark still hasn't showed up," Cena smiled. "The bastard must be afraid to face you again."
"Don't you dare call him that," Jeff snapped. "Don't you dare even speak his name."
"But isn't he?" Cena asked innocently. "Isn't he a bastard for leaving you like he did and not showing up now to face you like a man?"
"He's more of a man then you will ever be," Jeff retorted.
"Then why isn't he here protecting you?"
"Why would he need to protect me?"
Cena smiled, putting an arm around Jeff's shoulders. "Because I'm back."
"You've been back for a while now. I haven't needed protection at all."
"Now you will," Cena smirked. "Because two months is enough of a grieving period."
Jeff's eye's widened. "It was you who sent me that text!"
"What text?" Cena asked.
"What did you do to him?" Jeff asked, his voice rising slightly.
"I didn't do anything to him," Cena answered.
"What did you do to him?" Jeff repeated.
Cena shook his head. "I told you already. I didn't touch the guy."
"Then why did you send me that text?"
"Which text?" Cena asked innocently.
"The one asking if two months was enough to grieve the loss of a loved one?" Jeff replied, his features hardening.
"Oh, that one," Cena chuckled. "I was merely asking if two months was enough to grieve him leaving you."
"Bull shit."
"It's true," Cena smiled. "I just wanted to give you enough time to pull yourself together before I tear you down again."
Jeff shook off Cena's arm, backing away from the other man. "You're not going to get a chance."
Cena raised his eyebrow. "Oh really? Who says?"
"I do, that's who."
"You have no more power here then a worm on a hook," Cena replied, moving to stand in front of Jeff.
"I have more power then you think."
"No, you don't," Cena said, staring at Jeff with an intimidating gaze. "You only think you have power."
"That's where you're wrong." Jeff retorted, trying desperately not to back away, not to give any hint to the terror he still felt.
"Oh, I'm not wrong," Cena replied, moving his hand up to toy with Jeff's hair.
Jeff shivered involuntarily as he backed away from Cena's touch. "Don't touch me."
"Mark's not here anymore," Cena reminded him. "You've got no protection from me."
"Of course I do," Jeff said, shaking his head. "I've got people who will stand by me no matter what."
Cena stared at Jeff, a smirk on his face. "You may have some back up now but you'll never get away from mine."
Jeff backed away further. "You'd need an army to force me to do anything again."
"That can be arranged," Cena smiled, looking up behind Jeff. "And there they are."
Jeff went to turn around when strong arms wrapped around him tightly. Cena walked up to Jeff, a smile on his face as he shook his head.
"Still think you're so called friends and family can protect you?"
Jeff struggled in vain to escape his captors but his efforts where futile. Cena's smile grew as he watched Jeff's struggle. Nodding at the man who held him, Cena led the way down the hall, not aware that a pair of dark eyes watched the trio leave. Nor did he hear the telltale beeping of a cell phone as a call was made.