Like Old Times
11/29/04
Paul sighed, then pushed the door to the parking lot open. Even from their spot, which was right in front of the door leading into the arena, the view wasn't a pretty one, nor was it inviting.
"Oh my God."
To say Paul stumbled back so far from the sight in front of them that he tripped over Shawn and almost hit the wall was a complete understatement.
The noise the members of D-Generation X, namely Paul, were making caught Glenn's attention, because the man turned to look at them.
"Can you two get over here, please? I need a hand!" Glenn shouted.
Shawn and Paul pressed forward, walking away from the door and over to where Glenn was kneeling over an extremely unconscious and profusely bleeding Shane McMahon.
"Shit." Paul mumbled, stopping in front of Glenn and allowing the sight of his unconscious brother-in-law to settle.
"You're telling me. Imagine walking towards the door to the arena and seeing this." Glenn replied, rubbing his neck uncomfortably.
"Did you happen to catch who did this to him?" Paul asked.
"Who else but that asshat Tyson Tomko?" Glenn asked, fixing Paul with a cold glare.
"Told you we should've followed him." Shawn stated, surprising Paul by speaking more than a word at a time.
"Yeah, I know. We have bigger fish to fry right now, Shawny. How long ago did you come across this, Glenn?" Paul questioned.
"A few minutes ago. I called you as soon as I got him out of the car."
Paul and Shawn turned to look at one another with confused looks on their faces.
"'Car?' What car?"
"That one," Glenn replied, pointing at the car parked not too far away. "I think it's his rental, but I can't be sure."
"Yeah, that's his," Paul sighed. "Now what did you mean when you said you had to get him out of the car?"
"Windshield is broken, so I guess Tomko threw him through it."
"Christ... Well, I guess that explains all the blood... Alright, we have to drag his half dead ass back to the D-X locker room. We'll handle things from there." Paul stated.
"Are you sure we shouldn't call an ambulance..? I mean... He's pretty banged up."
Paul rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I'm absolutely positive. No ambulance. We don't need to call too much attention to this incident... Don't need Tomko or any of Vince's other bitches to come around looking to finish the kid off... It's bad for business." Paul stated.
"Keep in mind that this is your brother-in-law we're talking about." Shawn retorted, glaring at Paul.
"I know. Calm yourself, Shawn."
Glenn sighed. "Alright... Can we get moving, please? I don't like sitting out here during such difficult times on the business side of this company..."
"Right. Are you picking him up, Glenn?"
"I guess."
"Good. Hurry up and grab him. Shawn, get the door. Let's get back to where we know is safe."
Shawn sighed and rolled his eyes, but bit his cheek to prevent himself from speaking. The last thing he wanted to do was say something that would piss Paul off. He made his way over to the door to the arena, completely lost in his own thoughts. Once he noticed Glenn was fast approaching, he opened the door and side-stepped out of the bigger man's way.
"Which way is your locker-room?" Glenn asked.
"That way." Paul replied, gesturing down the hall.
Shawn watched as Glenn stopped walking to allow Paul the opportunity to cut in front of him and lead the way. Shawn found it interesting and very out of character for Glenn, but figured the bigger man only wanted to help in any way possible. Everyone knew Paul was terrible at giving directions, so allowing him to lead the way was the quickest and safest bet.
Paul kicked open the door to the D-X locker-room, successfully scaring the hell out of Randy, Bret and Joanie. The look of shock quickly turned to pure terror as they watched Paul usher Glenn into the room. Glenn knelt down and laid Shane on the floor as carefully as he could before standing up straight again and turning to look at Paul.
"Alright. I'm out. Good luck with this."
Paul nodded. "Thanks, Glenn. See ya."
Glenn left the room without another word, allowing Shawn to close and lock the door behind him.
"Okay... Since everyone else seems to be speechless... I'm going to say it. What the hell happened to Shane?!" Bret shouted.
"Jacobs said Tomko tossed him through the windshield of his rental car. Don't ask why." Paul replied.
"I'll tell you why," Everyone in the room was caught completely off guard by the harsh tone in Shawn's voice. "It's because of what happened tonight. What the Board of Directors decided on. I told you Vin Man's lackeys weren't going to like it. Tomko, especially. I told you we had to be on high alert with this damn kid. He has a target on his back, and if we're not careful, he's gonna get himself dead."
Paul sighed. "Alright. You were right. Is that what you want to hear? I think we have more important things to handle right now, Shawny. First, We have to get Linda down here. Second, we have to alert the Board. Third, and most importantly, we have to stop the bleeding and see if there's any other damage." Paul stated.
Shawn nodded. "Alright. You call Linda and tell her. I think she should call the Board. I mean... She is the boss now... It'll sound a lot more urgent coming from her... Randy... Run down the hall to the medical room and get as many towels as you can."
"You got it, Shawn." Randy said, then bolted from the room.
Paul rolled his eyes, but took his phone out of his pocket and walked to the corner of the locker-room to make the call to his mother-in-law. By the time Linda picked up, Randy ran back into the room with a stack of towels.
"Mark was asking questions. I told him we were messing around and wrecked the place. He didn't seem convinced, but he didn't say anything else. Don't be surprised if he stops by in a bit." Randy stated, handing the towels over to Shawn, who knelt down next to Shane.
Paul watched the older man with interest while trying to tell Linda what happened to Shane. "I don't know, mom. I'm telling you everything I know. Glenn Jacobs was there. But Shawn thinks it was... Yeah. Because of the Board. You what? Okay. I'll send Randy to get you. See you soon. Bye." Paul sighed and put his phone back into his pocket. He turned to look at Shawn and was somewhat surprised to see Bret kneeling next to him, helping in any way possible.
"I need another towel." Bret stated, holding his hand out.
Randy gave him a towel. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he should be." Bret replied.
"How'd things go on the phone with Linda?" Joanie asked.
"She's on her way over here. Can you go meet her in the parking lot, Randy?" Paul questioned.
"Alone?" Randy asked, giving Paul a puppy dog look.
Paul glared. "You can take Joanie with you."
Randy groaned in mild annoyance, but nodded. "Okay. Care to join me, Joanie?"
"Sure. Let's go."
Paul watched as they left the room, then returned his attention to Shawn. "Need any help?"
Shawn shook his head. "I think we're good, thanks. It's not that bad now that the majority of the blood has been cleaned up." Shawn replied.
"Any glass?"
"Not that I can see."
Shawn jumped back when Shane groaned and moved his head.
"You're a bit jumpy." Bret stated, chuckling at Shawn's expense.
Shawn glared at Bret, but chose not to say anything. He didn't feel like starting a fight with him, especially since they seemed to be friends now. He leaned closer to Shane. "Shane? Can you hear me?"
Another groan, but this time, Shane opened his eyes to look at Shawn. "Sadly, yes."
Shawn smiled and patted Shane's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. How do you feel?"
"Terrible."
Shawn exchanged a look with Paul. When Shane admitted to feeling bad, they knew it was bad.
"Think you can get up?" Paul asked.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because my back is killing me." Shane replied, glaring lazily at his brother-in-law.
Paul sighed. "Okay, then. Care to tell us what happened?"
Shane rolled his eyes and winced in pain. "No."
Bret turned to look at Shawn and Paul. "You guys have been dealing with this for awhile now, haven't you?"
"Yeah."
"About how long?"
"I think Tomko started his shit a day after Unforgiven. It was either the day after or a week after, I forget. But he's been attacking us since then." Paul replied.
"And how long has he been attacking Shane?"
"Since the kid started standing up to his old man." Shawn stated.
Bret sighed. "I wish something else could be done about this."
"Me too. But right now we have to focus on getting Mr. Lazy Bones up and about."
Shane groaned. "And why is that?"
"Your mom will be here soon. If I were you, I'd man up and get up so we can get you proper. We don't need your mom flipping shit on us." Bret stated.
Shane opened his eyes again and looked at Paul. "You called my mom?!"
"I didn't know what else to do! You're over here getting attacked by your own employees and your mom was in the area, anyway..."
Shane would have slammed his head on the floor if he wasn't in so much pain, that much was obvious to everyone in the room. Paul could tell solely by the look on his face that he wasn't happy with the situation, and the last thing he wanted was for Shane to hit his head in anger. Paul looked at Shawn, eyes begging for him to help, and was rewarded by Shawn nodding his head in acknowledgement.
"Ya know, Shane... Calling your mom down here was the wisest thing we could have done. I mean, she is the new boss around here, and her presence will make a difference when it comes to your dads lackeys thinking they can have their way with you just because your dad isn't around anymore. You guys have to work together to show the employees that you mean business and anyone who challenges you will be punished."
"I guess you're right." Shane winced again as he tried moving, making Shawn raise a concerned eyebrow.
"I'm gonna need you to lay on your stomach... I wanna take a look at your back."
Shane's eyes widened in fear. "Please don't make me move."
"I happen to know a thing or two about back injuries... And I need to take a look at your back in order to make sure you're okay."
Shane sighed. "No."
"Please? There's three of us here and it'll take us less than three seconds to move you, I promise."
Shane glared at the older man. "Can I punch you in the face for every extra second?"
Shawn smiled, but shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. I need to make money."
"Hurry up before I change my mind."
Bret, Paul and Shawn quickly helped Shane roll onto his stomach. To the younger mans credit, he never once let anyone know how much pain he was in, but Shawn knew the blood coming from his lip wasn't from Tomko's attack.
Once the younger man was settled on his stomach, Shawn rolled his shirt up to take a look at his back. A quick glance at Paul told him it wasn't pretty, and taking a look at the back of Shane's head told him the younger man was damn near ready to knock himself unconscious.
"I have to run my hand down your spine." Shawn stated.
He watched as Shane tensed.
"That sounds dirty." Shane retorted.
Leave it to Bret to laugh.
"You're right. Sorry. I have to check for damage... Felt like I should warn you. Why don't you keep your eyes on Paul?"
"Because he's hideous."
Shawn scoffed, whereas Paul face-palmed.
"At least you still have your sense of humor."
Shawn returned his sight to Shane's back, which was covered in bruises, so he looked over at Bret. "Can you go grab some ice, please?"
"Sure." Bret left the room without another word.
"That bad?" Paul asked, leaning over so he could take a look.
Shawn sighed and looked down at Shane's back again. "Bad enough..," As soon as he put a hand on Shane's back, the younger man groaned and headbutted the floor. "Please don't do that!"
"Sorry."
Paul sat back down and tried to look Shane in the eyes. "You shouldn't piss people off, you know."
"I didn't do anything," Shane shouted. When he noticed Paul and Shawn weren't saying anything, he slowly propped himself up on his elbows so he could look at least one of them in the eyes. "You wanna know what I did?! I went out there to get what I forgot, just like I said. On my way back, Tomko grabbed me from behind and... Well, you saw."
"Were you still conscious when you hit the windshield?"
"Yeah. Only blacked out when I heard Glenn."
Paul sighed and looked at Shawn, who shrugged his shoulders. "So you weren't out for long."
"Not at all."
Bret walked back in with the ice and knelt down next to Shawn, who had just finished rolling Shane's shirt down. "Mark is getting suspicious."
"Tell him to kiss my ass." Shane mumbled.
Shawn dropped an ice pack on Shane's back, making the younger man hiss in pain.
"Be nice." Shawn warned.
Shane rolled his eyes and mumbled some choice words, which Paul only caught a few syllables of.
"How's he doing?" Bret asked, even though it was slightly obvious everything was okay.
"He'll be fine. No damage, really. Just a lot of bruising, hence the ice."
By the time Shawn finished talking, Randy nearly kicked the door off the hinges and held it open for Linda and Joanie, then slammed it shut, locked it and sat down on the floor next to Paul.
"Shane!" Linda shouted, storming over to her son and hugging him as tightly as she could.
"Hi mom."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, mom. I'm fine."
"You don't seem okay," Linda paused to pull away from him and started petting his head, ignoring the fact his cheeks were turning red in embarrassment. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, mom. Please stop touching me, I have blood in my hair."
Linda nodded and planted a kiss on Shane's forehead. She stood up and walked over to Paul. "What do you make of it?"
"Revenge." Paul replied.
"Why revenge?" Linda asked.
"Well... Mostly because Vince was fired tonight. Tomko has been one of his top lackeys since about October... I think he'll be looking to knock Shane around as much as he can."
"That's not going to happen..."
Paul and Linda turned to look at Shane again. "Oh?"
Shane nodded. "The thing in my car..? Contract termination papers, suspension slips... I received two letters from the Board earlier... One that I had to read in the ring, and the other was a letter stating that I had to fire Tomko."
"Does he know?" Randy asked.
"Probably."
"How about Flair and Batista?" Paul questioned.
"I have to suspend them for thirty days... Jay's name was also on the suspension list, but I contacted the Board and argued his case. They lifted the suspension, which was good... But told me I had to suspend Joanie."
Everyone in the room took a quick glance at Joanie, who didn't look too happy but didn't argue, either.
"For how long?" She asked.
"Well... Know that I tried to argue your case, as well. But the Board said they wanted you suspended for accepting extra money from my dad. They said I can decide how long your suspension is going to be for... And you know I won't suspend you for thirty days..."
"Should I leave now?"
"Probably. I'll call you."
Joanie nodded, grabbed her bag and left.
"Alright. What's next for us?" Paul asked.
"I think we should get out of here." Shane replied.
"The show isn't over yet, Shane." Linda stated, sending a stern look at her son.
Shane looked his mother in the eyes. "I don't care. I'm not playing the role of rag doll any more tonight," Shane turned his attention to Shawn. "Would you mind helping me up?"
"Not at all." Shawn made eye contact with Paul, who got the hint and joined him. They reached down, grabbed a hold of Shane and hoisted him up.
"You alright?" Paul asked.
"Yep." Shane replied, making D-X let go of him.
"You sure?"
Shane turned to look at Paul. "As your C.E.O., I demand you stop asking me stupid ass questions."
Paul scoffed and raised his hands in defeat.
"What's in the future for you?" Bret asked.
Shane shrugged. "Whatever the Board tells me," He paused for a moment and turned to look at Bret. "I've been thinking... Would you like to be the new commissioner?"
A/N: Hiya guys. Sorry for the longish wait between updates.
Nearing the end, I'm afraid. Can't really think of anything else to have happen in this fic. Maybe one or two more chapters... If I can think of something, that is.
Feel free to send some suggestions my way. Or if you want to request a fic, you're more than welcome to do that.
Happy reading!