Yay! Saw my good friend Will up at Urban's yesterday and finally got my awesome Donnie Darko design done! I'll change my profile pic to it later. Also, we got floor seats to the Raw Supershow here in Dallas! So excited! We're right behind the announcer's table so on Monday, August 13th, watch for me and the bestie behind the announcers. We'll be holding up the poster that says Urban's! (not too sure what all's gonna go on it; gonna take a poster board up to Will in 2 weeks and have him work his artistic magic) Also I just set up a facebook page so I can post pics of places in my stories, people (other than wrestlers) that I base characters off of and probably just some random funny stuff. I'll be working on adding pics and info on that page tonight but it's already up. Hope you guys will go see it and add it! ?ref=tn_tnmn

Chapter 15

As the sound of the gun stopped once again, Jeff looked down to admire Will's handiwork. The birds were fitting perfectly into the branches already there and Jeff, for the first time in a week, was excited. It was looking great yet inconspicuous at the same time. Will sprayed some solution onto a new set of paper towels and wiped away the ink that had gathered before inspecting his lines and turning the gun on again and resuming his outlines. As the familiar buzzing filled the small cubicle once again, Jeff leaned his head back in the chair and reveled in the feeling of the needle once again.

...

John was dumbfounded. He had absolutely no clue what to say in that moment. At first thought he looked around at the faces of all of the fans that were standing around the man. It was obvious that they had no clue what this man was talking about. His second thought was to look around at the faces of the others on stage with him. To his surprise, all of their eyes were trained on him. It took a moment but he finally saw that they weren't waiting to see his answer but how he was reacting to it. He was saved when Vince himself stepped in front of the crowd and took the mic from Cena. "I'm sorry but there will be no questions about the families of our wrestlers. Their lives are their own and I'm sure if they had wanted to be in the spotlight they would do so." With that, Vince handed the mic over to his son-in-law Paul and took his old position again on the side of the crowd.

Paul snapped out of his moment of confusion and lifted the mic to his lips. "Well, we'll have one more question..."

...

Vince, after resuming is position, sent a nod to his head of security a few feet away and flicked his eyes towards the heavy-set man that had asked bout Callie. Steven got the hint and left the room long enough to summon his employees by walkie-talkie, then re-entered the room and kept his eyes trained on the man until his backup could arrive.

...

"Alright man, you're all done." Will said as he sprayed the last set of paper towels and wiped off Jeff's arm and applied more ointment before scooting his stool back and taking the needles out of his gun and adding them to the syringe box mounted at his station. Jeff hopped up from the chair and walked over the full length mirror in the shop, turning to admire the artwork.

"Man, it's awesome. And it ties in great with the roots already there." Jeff figured since most people took his tattoo for branches anyway he'd play on it. Buried in the tangle of lines were the black silhouettes of two birds, done in a greywash, to symbolize both Callie and himself. He thought it fitting as she had always reminded him of a small bird, flitting this way and that, dodging among the legs and arms of big wrestlers backstage. Jeff turned and gave Will what Callie would have called the "man hug" and thanked him once again. "You don't know what this means to me, man. Really appreciate it on such short notice."

"Anytime. No charge either."

"Naw man, I gotta pay you something."

Will help up his hand to quiet Jeff. "Dont worry about it. I owe Shannon a favor and I've been a lifelong fan. Just lemme brag to all my friends I tattooed the one of the Hardy brothers and we're even."

Jeff gave a small laugh, his first in what seemed like forever, and agreed. After a few more minutes of talking and taking a few pictures together, Jeff knew he had to take his leave. He was scheduled for a radio interview that evening and he wanted to make sure he wasn't late. As he walked out of the shop door into the bright sunlight and stifling Texas heat he took a deep breath and looked up into the sky. Someone had told him once that even in the middle of a city, the skies in Texas always looked bigger than anywhere else. He couldn't believe they'd been here for so long already and he was just now noticing. As he walked to his rental car, Jeff just prayed that Callie wasn't up there looking down in him just yet.

...

Backstage, John was still having trouble putting two and two together. Did that man really just talk about his sister? He just had to be talking about her disappearance. The news of his "long lost baby sister" had made headlines a year ago when she first became a regular backstage on RAW and had accompanied him to the ring during his title match against Jericho. It had been a hefty decision as Stephanie, who had taken over as head of creative, wanted to add her into a story line with little to training in the ring. Ultimately the final decision had been Callie's and John was surprised when she agreed. At first he had been reluctant to let her, not wanting her to agree to this just to try to please him as her new brother. He'd quickly learned, though, that she had loved the idea. Not for fame or anything, just to try something new. It was his first inclination that she was coming out of her shell and was slowly leaving behind her quiet, mousy persona.

But there was no way this fan had just now gotten that news so he HAD to be talking about what had happened to her a few days ago. The problem was that John couldn't figure out what his angle was. Was he in on it? If so then why would be bring it up? Obviously, if he knew about it he would have noticed the lack of media coverage about the situation wouldn't he? John sat down on the couch in the back room and let his face fall into his hands.

As soon as the Q and A session was over, the security team had waited until said man was leaving before, as discreetly as possible, pulling him from the crowd and holding him in his own back room until the local police unit that was handling Callie's cae could arrive. They were in there questioning him now and everyone who had heard his question was anxious at what they would find out, if anything. He hadn't been cuffed or taken into official custody but he had heard from Vince that if they couldn't get a reasonable explaination out of him he would be taken into the station and held for 24 hours until he could come up with something believable. Seeing as how a hundred clueless people and the six other wrestlers onstage plus Vince and numerous camera crews and security personnel had heard him ask that question. They all knew what he meant by it and they would all testify to it if need be to keep that man in custody longer and get some answers out of him.

As he sat there, John became aware of someone else in the room. He momentarily took his head out of his hands to look up and see Punk standing in the doorway.

"You mind if I come in for a minute?"

"Naw, come on in."

Punk sat down in a chair opposite the couch and looked at Cena for a moment before speaking. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I will be. We haven't heard anything from them yet." John paused and stared at his hands before going on. "How did he know? You haven't heard anything about a leak or...hell, I don't know."

"Sorry. Nothing. But if I ever do you'll be the first one I tell. We were all just as confused as you were. Still are." Punk sighed and took off his cap, running his hands through his hair. "We're all wondering. It hasn't been on the news or anything. He has to know something and we'll do whatever it takes to get it out of him. John, we're all going to do whatever we can until she comes home."

"I know. I just...I dunno. I feel helpless."

Punk looked at John and knew exactly how he felt. Probably more considering he'd been harboring this secret forever. Too many times he'd almost just said fuck it and let it out. To John, to Randy, to Jeff, to anyone. He couldn't imagine how good it would feel to get the weight off of his chest. But at the same time, the backlash from it would most likely be even worse. And now was not the time to start this conversation. Damn, this entire situation was not the time to bring up something like this. Letting out a sigh, Punk stood up once again and paused in front of John before leaving. "They'll find out what he knows. Until then, don't beat yourself up about it too much."

John watched him leave the room again and, not for the first time in the past few days, had that eerie feeling that something was going on with him other than his worry for Callie.

...

"Dad?" A pause. "DAD? Are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah honey. Prom. Try to keep it under a grand, will ya?" Dave was finding it harder and harder to feign interest in what was probably his daughter's most important night up until now. Her senior prom was coming up and she had been talking his ear off about dresses and shoes and all of those girly things teenagers liked. She was so excited about the popular boy at school asking her and he felt bad for not being excited for her but Callie was weighing on his mind. He had chosen not to tell his youngest daughter about what had happened, at least not until there was more information to tell. Callie and Athena had gotten along well, becoming shopping buddies and haveing girl talk for hours on the phone. It was great to him that they had hit if off and he was happy for another female figure in his daughter's life but now he didn't want to scare Athena, not to mention ruin her prom night. He had made the decision not to tell her about it until the news broke to the media or they found Cal, which ever came first.

After hanging up the phone, Dave looked around his hotel room. He could almost trick himself into thinking that Callie was in the bathroom, maybe just getting out of the shower, and she would come out any second, dewy skinned and smelling of japanese cherry blossoms, her favorite body spray. But that wasn't going to happen. When he'd gotten the news that she was missing he had just gotten done with a radio interview and was heading back to his hotel. Jeff had called him in a total panic and Dave had been able to hear a lot of commotion in the background which he later learned were cops. Time had stopped once the words had registered in his head and he had nearly dropped the phone, immediately turning the SUV around. There really wasn't any good he would be able to do at her house except get in the cops' way, and he knew that, but he had to be there. He had to see it all for himself.

Afterwards everything was foggy for David. He could remember being backstage for the events, making phone calls, talking with John, but he couldn't seem to remember any of the details. His entire memory of the past few days was a haze of confusion and anger. Eventually Vince had had to just tell him to stay away. It was understandable to Dave, he HAD been overly paranoid and suspicious to the point where was no longer any excuse for his behavior, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Sighing once more, he clicked off the lamp next to the bed. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep and that was okay. He was content to just lay in the dark and stare at the ceiling all night.

...

Someone was watching her. She could feel it before she ever even opened her eyes. Callie contemplated just laying as still as possible and avert another violent situation for a moment before she heard him speak.

"You're not fooling me, Love. Open up."

Callie slowly opened her eyes and saw that Wade was a foot away from her, staring down at her intently. "Well, good evening. Glad to see you're still among the living. I need you alive, at least until Wrestlemania."

Wrestlemania? What was he planning? She didn't have long to contemplate what he had said before Wade was ramming his lips to hers, knowing he wouldn't get the response he wanted but doing it anyway. In fact, Callie hadn't spoken a word since their first encounter after she had woken up here. That was fine by him. She tensed, knowing what was coming next and praying she'd pass out before he really got started.

...

Damn he was hot. Of course, every female on the planet already knew that. But she knew that she was the only one good enough for him. She'd been staring at him from across the room for nearly fifteen minutes now and was getting seriously pissed that he hadn't noticed her yet. He had walked into the bar earlier with Randy, both immediately taking a seat in the back corner, probably hoping to avoid being mobbed by the fans. Nothing of particular interest seemed to be going on, just two guys drinking some beers and talking. The least he could do is look up once in a while.

When Randy excused himself, probably to pee, she saw her chance to become a little more proactive about the situation and headed over to his table. Walking up behind him, she ran her hand over his shoulders and cooed soothingly into his ear. "Well, mind if I join you two?"

John looked up, slightly startled, and shook his head. "When are you gonna get the point Eve? I don't want to be with you."

"Now Johnny, don't be like that." She took the seat next to him, leaning her head into him and settling her hand on his thigh. "You and I both know you don't really mean that. How about we head up to your room and I'll convince you?"

"Seriously?" John jerked away from her. "I'm trying to have a conversation with my friend, who will be back any minute. And do you SERIOUSLY think that NOW is a good time to try and get in my pants? Right now, I have more important things to think about than sex. And I ALWAYS have more important things to think about than YOU! Step off hoeski."

With that he quickly stood, throwing some money on the table for the beer and stormed off to find Randy and head back upstairs. Before he couldn't enter the men's room he heard the click of her heels behind him. She didn't even wait for him to turn around before speaking. "One way or another, I will have you Cena. I thought that with that little bitch finally out of your ass it could happen. Apparently I'm just going to have to wait until they find her body and she's out of the picture for good!"

John had to stop himself from turning around and knocking her face off. His morals wouldn't allow him to hit a woman, no matter how much she deserved it, but he had never been so compelled to in his life. Just then, Randy came out of the men's room and walked straight to Eve, towering over her. "Listen here you little bitch, I EVER catch you saying ANYTHING like that again and I will rip your fat ass limb from FUCKING limb. Unlike Cena, I don't care if you've got tits, I'll break your ugly ass face anyway. And NO ONE in that locker room will side with you over us. I suggest you turn right around and get the hell out of here before I make you."

With that, Eve let out a huff and stormed off. Watching her go Randy heard himself mutter "slut" under his breath before checking on John. "You alright?"

"Yeah man, I shouldn't let her get to me. But she dares try this shit NOW?"

"Yeah, I heard it all through the door. I'm sorry you had o deal with that. Maybe you should let Vince know she's up your ass and talkin shit about Cal. He can make sure she stays away from ya."

"Maybe." Looking around and realizing they were getting looks from some of the other patrons near them he shook it off. "C'mon. Let's get goin. I'll call room service for a coupla beers and some dinner upstairs and we'll hang there." As they made their way back up the elevators John made the decision to just stay upstairs when he wasn't working. Another scene like that was going to be enough to make him completely snap.

Next chapter is the night before Wrestlemania! Wade puts the finishing touches on his master plan and Punk contemplates coming clean about his secret. Will they find out what the man at the interview knows about Callie disppearing before it's too late?