Sting entered the Florida gym and removed his shades. Slipping them into the collar of his tank top, he made his way passed the weight machines and other exercise equipment until he reached the back room which was marked 'Private'.
He caught sight of Pete, the owner, and gave the man a smile. Pete nodded and waved, motioning for him to go on in.
As he stepped into the room he found himself within a smaller gym. There wasn't as much equipment and only a few customers working out.
He scanned the room, his eyes landing on Hulk, who was working out in a back corner.
As he approached the older man Hogan spotted him and stood, extending his hand.
"Thanks for meeting me here, my brother." Hulk said as he shook the other man's hand.
"Sure." Sting looked around before turning back to Hogan, "So what's going on?"
Hogan took a seat on his weight bench and motioned for Sting to sit on the one adjacent to it. As he did so Hogan wiped his face with his towel and took a healthy swig of his bottle of water.
Finishing, he recapped the bottle and studied Sting for a few moments. Sting stared back at him, curious and confused.
"How are you feeling?" he finally inquired.
"I'm good." Sting nodded, "I'm anxious to get back in the ring."
He flashed a slight smile, "Is that why you called me to come down here and meet with you?"
"No." Hulk shook his head, "But it's good to know that you're getting better."
He looked out over the gym and sighed, "No, I wanted to meet with you today to talk about the Impact Zone."
"What about it?"
"It's getting serious down there." he turned back to Sting, solemn.
"Roode's still running amok." Sting surmised.
"Yeah." Hogan replied, "And Bully Ray. And Flair."
Sting was surprised by the last name, "Flair?"
Hogan nodded, "Ever since Eric Bischoff was kicked out Flair's been trying to throw his weight around. He and I have had words and I think he's going to be a problem later on."
"Yeah, well you know Ric." Sting smirked, "Sometimes he's all talk."
"I don't think this is one of those times." Hulk was somber, "I think he's planning something."
"I'll keep an eye on him," Sting promised, "I'm going to be popping up in the Impact Zone this week anyway."
He began to smile, the expression boarding on menacing, "I have another little surprise in store for Bobby Roode."
Hulk stared at the other man for a few moments, more than a little unnerved by his demeanor. Having been on the receiving end of Sting's little surprises, himself, he knew Roode was in for a lot of trouble.
And yet he couldn't fault the guy. Especially where he, himself, was concerned. He had no excuses for his behavior over the last year. And he had deserved everything the Stinger had thrown at him and then some. In fact, he really did owe him for helping to put him back on track. Not many people would have done what he did to get through to him. He appreciated him for that.
"Do you want Roode in a match?" he asked Sting.
"Oh yeah." the other man replied without hesitation.
"Done."
"No. Not that way." Sting shook his head, clarifying, "It's like I told Dixie. He has to ask for the match."
He paused, thoughtful before going on, "Not just ask. He has to beg for it. Because if he doesn't, then he'll try and figure out a way to weasel out of it. No, no he has to be the one calling for it."
Hulk found himself grinning, "Kind of like how you got me to demand a match."
"Exactly." Sting agreed with a hint of a smile.
"All right. I'll let you handle this your way, Brother." Hogan added, "Just be careful. From what I've seen of Roode, he's at his most dangerous when he thinks he's trapped."
"I'm not going to underestimate him this time." Sting promised, adamant, "What happened at Victory Road won't happen again."
Something dark came to his eyes and Hogan knew he was talking about more than just his match. He knew he was thinking about what Roode had done to Dixie after the match.
He wasn't blind. He had seen the way the other man looked at the Impact Owner. It was clear he had feelings for her. Now whether he had admitted it to himself or not was another story.
"Speaking of Dixie," Hulk changed the subject, "She seems to be holding up pretty well, considering everything that's going on with her."
"Yeah." Sting agreed, but didn't say anything more on the subject.
The truth was, he felt uncomfortable talking about Dixie's personal life. Especially with Hogan. Not that he didn't trust the guy. But it just didn't sit right with him, considering everything that had gone on between them a few months ago.
Hulk could see that Sting wasn't going to elaborate so he didn't press the issue.
He couldn't help but inquire, though, "So what does she think about you going after Roode?"
"She understands why I need to get revenge." Sting features hardened as he thought of the other man, "I don't think she's happy about it. But she gets it."
"I'd think she'd want to see you get your hands on Roode." Hulk replied, "Especially after what he did to the both of you at Victory Road."
Sting glanced down at his clasped hands, "The truth is, I think she's afraid. Not that I blame her after what that piece of garbage did to her."
He turned back to Hogan, determined, "That's a part of the reason why I need to do this. Not just for me but for her, too. I want to show her that she doesn't have to be afraid of Roode anymore."
"She'll get there." the older man assured him.
"Yeah." Sting nodded.
He'd make sure of it.
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Madison paced back and forth across the dressing room.
"I don't get him!" she snapped, growing angrier with each step, "I mean, look at me! I'm gorgeous. I'm sexy. I'm fun to be around. A lot more than that old shrew."
She stopped and turned around, glaring at Gail Kim, "I gave him the best few weeks of my life. And now he tells me he wants some space? Space? Argh!"
Madison stomped her feet and crossed her arms as she began to pout.
Gail let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. She'd had to listen to Madison rant and rave for over twenty minutes now and the Knockouts Champion was getting tired of it.
"When are you going to forget about him?" she asked her so called 'bestie', "You should find somebody who's, ya know, not taken."
Madison's eyes constricted, "He's not taken. He's getting a divorce."
"Did he say that?" Gail challenged.
Madison gave pause, frowning, "Not in so many words, no. But he's going to. I just know it."
A feline smirk began to grace her features, "And then he'll come crawling back to me. He'll have to beg for awhile but I'll eventually take him back. If the jewelry he buys me to apologize is nice enough, that is."
Gail leaned back her chair and insisted, "I just don't think you should get your hopes up. At least until you know for certain that he's getting a divorce."
"Why wouldn't he?" Madison huffed.
Gail glanced down at her nails and shrugged, murmuring nonchalantly, "Maybe he's still hung up on Dixie."
Madison scoffed at that, "Uh, hello. He left her."
"That's not what I've heard." Gail couldn't help but grin.
"What do you mean?" Madison demanded, her face turning red with fury.
Gail shrugged again, "Nothing. It's just that I heard Serge's leaving was more Dixie's decision than his. That's all."
"That's not true." Madison accused.
Gail raised her hands in mock surrender, "That's just what I heard. Of course it could all be idle gossip."
She paused, pondering, "All though that would explain why he was so quick to tell you that he needed some space. And it would explain why he's not jumping to make things official between you."
She looked up at Madison, eyes innocent, "I mean, you know how these guys are. They always want to have their cake and eat it, too."
Suddenly the dressing room door flew open, crashing against the wall with a savage force. Seconds later Madison came storming out and down the hall.
"Serge!" she shrieked as she tore off down the corridor.
Gail peeked out after her and began to smirk.
"This is gonna be fun." she murmured with a sly laugh before closing the door.
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Bobby Roode quickly pinned Matt Morgan. With the sounds of the crowd booing him, the ref counted the one, two, three and he had just sealed another win. Again, through devious means.
He rose to his feet and smirked down at the fallen man. He let the ref raise his hand in victory, his grin growing.
Nothing could stop him. Nothing and nobody.
He reached over and snatched the mic from Christy's hand. Walking back to the center of the ring he looked around at the crowd, smirking as they continued to boo him and chant that he sucked.
"You can 'boo' me all you want," he snickered, "The fact remains that I'm the best wrestler going today. I am the It Factor. And that's not going to change. No matter what. No matter who steps into this ring against me."
At that the crowd began to chant, "Cowboy beat you! Cowboy beat you!"
For a moment Roode lost his smirk. A sneer flashed across his face and a spark of anger began to rise up within him,
But just as quickly it disappeared, his cocky air once again returning, "Nobody can stop me. Not The Cowboy James Storm. Not Hulk Hogan."
An sinister glint came to his eye, "Not even you, Sting. Because when it comes down to it, all you are is a coward. All you can do is turn out the lights and sneak up behind people. And why? Because you can't face them. You're too much of a coward to get in this ring and meet me face-to-face."
"We want Sting! We want Sting! We want Sting!" the crowd began to yell for the Icon.
Bobby looked over at them and laughed coldly, "You can keep chanting all you want. It won't change the fact that the Stinger is nothing but chicken."
He looked around, as though waiting for something to happen.
"That's right, Sting!" he yelled, "You're a chicken!"
Something dark came over him as he looked into the nearest camera and added, "I mean, let's face the facts. Only a chicken would let me do what I did to Dixie Carter at Victory Road.
"I had her down on the ground." he laughed evilly, "I was dragging her around the ring by her hair. And where were you? Cowering in the corner. I-"
At that moment the lights went out. It was followed by the sounds of 'Slay Me'. In the darkness the fans began to scream and cheer, calling for Sting.
When the lights came back on Bobby Roode was standing in the middle of the ring. But it wasn't Sting standing behind him. Instead it was Bully Ray, holding a steel chair.
Roode and Bully turned and searched the arena, looking for the Icon. But he was nowhere to be seen.
Roode looked over at Bully and demanded, "Where is he?"
"I don't see him." Bully shrugged, continuing to look around the Impact Zone.
"Hey, Roode! Bobby Roode!"
Roode and Bully looked to the monitor. Sting was looking down at them, a grin on his lips.
"Sorry I couldn't make it down to ringside." he stated, grin growing, "But I got a little lost."
He began to chuckle, "Can you believe it? I've been here over five years and I still get lost sometimes. I think I took a wrong turn because I ended up in. . ."
He looked around before turning back to the camera and finishing, "Well, I seemed to have ended up in your dressing room."
The camera pulled back and sure enough there was the Icon in Bobby Roode's dressing room.
Roode was livid. He began to stalk around the ring, yelling, "Get out of there! You have no business being in my dressing room! Get out of there, Sting! Get out of there right now!"
"Let's take a look at the former champion's dressing room." Sting murmured as he began to go through Roode's things, "What do we have here. Let's see."
"Get out right now!" Bobby bellowed, kicking at the ring ropes.
"Look what we have here!" Sting exclaimed as he opened a garment bag and revealed a dark suit.
"Wow." he breathed, glancing back towards the camera, "This is a nice suit, Bobby. A very nice suit."
He checked the label and whistled, before grinning, "That must have cost you a bundle, huh?"
Sting pretended to ponder, "You know, a suit this nice, I sure would hate to see it get ruined."
Suddenly he lifted his hand into view. He was holding a can of spray paint.
"Put that down!" Bobby yelled up to the monitor.
Sting began to shake the can. He popped the top off, casually tossing it over his shoulder without a backwards glance. He walked back over to the suit and began to smirk.
"You know, this suit is nice," he glanced over his shoulder to the camera, "But it could use a little color."
And with that he began to spray red paint across the ensemble.
Roode began to storm up and down the ring, raking his hands through his hair. He turned to Bully Ray and yelled, "Go get him! Go kick his ass!"
Bully dropped the chair and quickly exited the ring. He raced up the ramp and soon disappeared behind the curtain.
The monitor cut to black and the audience began to cheer.
Bobby glared at them. As they started to once again chant Sting's name he ran over to the ropes and kicked it. Pointing his finger at a group of fans, he began to yell at them.
While this was going on he took no notice as Sting made his way through the crowd on the other side of the ring. The Icon jumped over the barricade and climbed into the ring. He stepped up the center and stood silent, watching the former champion with something unreadable in his eyes.
At his appearance the crowds' cheers grew. Bobby rolled his eyes and began to walk backwards from the ropes to the center of the ring.
Suddenly his back hit something. He stopped, his eyes widening slightly. Slowly he turned around and his mouth fell open as he caught sight of Sting.
Instantly he took a swing at the other wrestler, but Sting blocked the punch. He then began to plow Roode with blows and chops.
His actions drove Roode to a nearby ring post. From there Sting issued a few kicks into the other man's gut.
Roode slumped to the ground in pain. He began to crawl across the ring, looking for a means of escape.
But Sting was on him in an instantly. He grabbed a hold of his legs and turned him around. The crowd went nuts as they realized what he was meaning to do.
He locked Bobby's legs into the Scorpion Death Lock and began to turn around. Even though Roode fought as best he could, he stood no chance and was forced onto his belly. Sting jumped up and sat down, causing Roode to bellow in pain. After a few seconds he began to tap but it did no good. Sting had no intention of letting him out of the vicious hold.
The crowd continued to cheer, enjoying seeing the arrogant ex-champion get his. Sting looked out at them and grinned. He stood up and jumped, once more sitting back down. Bobby screamed again and beat both hands against the canvas.
Suddenly Bully emerged from behind the curtain. He began to tear off down the ramp and towards the ring.
Sting spotted him and stood up. Still grinning, he causally backed away to the ropes and climbed out of the ring. As Bully rushed into the ring, he climbed back over the barricade and went through the crowd.
"See you soon, Bobby!" he yelled with a smirk.
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Dixie let out a sigh and turned off the television. She leaned back against her couch and shook her head in wonder.
She had to admit she got a small sense of satisfaction at seeing Sting one up Bobby Roode again and again. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Her smile slowly began to fade. There was a part of her that wondered if and when Sting's luck would run out. She wasn't naïve. She knew that sooner or later Bobby Roode could get the upper hand. Especially if Sting kept taking chances the way he was.
The sounds of the front door opening and closing shook Dixie out of her thoughts. She blinked and turned towards the doorway, watching as Tamara entered the foyer and dropped her keys onto the nearby table. She started to head up to her room when she caught sight of her mother.
"Tamara, can you come in here for a minute?" Dixie asked her.
The teenager stepped into the doorway and leaned against the frame, appearing bored, "Yeah?"
"I just wanted to let you know that you and Davy are going to be spending some time with your dad a few weeks from now." Dixie explained, "I need to go to New York City for a few days."
"Oh, I haven't been to New York in forever!" Tamara's eyes widened, "I want to go with you."
"Sorry, sweetie." Dixie shook her head, "But maybe you can go next time."
"Why can't I go?" Tamara demanded, hands on her hips.
"You still have school." Dixie smiled up at her daughter, reminding her, "Besides, this is a business trip. A summit for Spike TV."
"Well then why are you going?" her daughter scoffed.
"I'm going there to represent Impact." Dixie explained, "Well, me and a few of the wrestlers."
"Like who?" Tamara's eyes began to narrow as something came to her, "Don't tell me he's going."
Dixie sighed, mentally preparing herself for another confrontation, "Yes, Sting is going. And James Storm. And Hulk."
"Oh, that's just great!" Tamara gushed sarcastically, "You and your lover get to have a romantic getaway in New York. How quaint!"
"That's enough!" Dixie snapped, her temper erupting, "I mean it, Tamara. I am sick to death of your accusations. I'm not going to sit here and listen to them anymore. Enough!"
Tamara glared down at her mother, the girl shaking with anger.
Without a word she turned and raced from the room and up the stairs to her bedroom. A few seconds later Dixie could hear the sounds of her daughter's door slamming shut.
She leaned forward on the couch, her head in her hands. She sighed, trying to get her emotions under control.
How much longer was this going to go on? She hoped not too much longer because she honestly didn't know how much more of it she could take.
She lifted her head, raking a hand through her hair. Her eyes instantly fell on a picture hanging on the wall and she found herself rising and walking over to it.
As she approached she reached out and lightly traced the figures in the photo, a frown upon her face.
It was an older photo, taken when Tamara was only five. She and Dixie were sitting under an old oak tree, little Tamara on her lap. Dixie had her arms tightly wrapped around her child, both of them grinning up at the camera.
What had happened to that sweet, happy little girl? What had happened to make her so angry? So defiant?
Would things ever be right between them again?