5: The Beginning of a New Game

"You blew up the man's house." Shane said with a groan, having just sat through the recount of the incident, totally ignoring his now cold lunch. He had met Sine, at her penthouse, in order to discuss what might be done to stop the Undertaker and after hearing that, he was pretty sure he was dining with a dead woman.

"He murdered my cat and…" Sine shook her head, unable to even finish and tinged a delicate shade of green. "How do I get him to stop?"

"Honestly?"

She nodded.

"You don't."

Sine covered her eyes with a trembling hand, bracing her elbow on the top of the table. "That wasn't exactly what I was hoping to hear, Shane."

"I'm sorry Sine but I honestly don't know what to tell you besides the truth." Shane moved around the table so he was kneeling at her side, reaching up to gently take her hand, meeting her troubled gaze. "He's not going to stop until he gets bored or finds something else to distract him. The only thing you can do it wait this out."

"I cannot stay inside much longer, Shane, the man has literally driven me into hiding."

"So come on the road with us." He hated saying that, knowing she was likely to laugh him right out her door, but the truth was it would be easier to keep her safe if she was surrounded by people and not locked away in a posh apartment.

That and as far as he knew, 'Taker was showing up for shows sporadically, leaving most things to his Ministry. He had even released Stephanie, for which Shane was very grateful, though he also knew at whose expense it had happened. The woman sitting next to him, looking at him like he had lost his mind.

"Come on the road with you." She repeated, her upper lip curving slightly. "Then I would be even closer to him. I don't think you're comprehending: the man is insane. He followed me around the world, Shane." She nodded when his eyes widened, massaging her temples with her index fingers. "From Milan, to Vienne, Tokyo, Egypt and everywhere in between. Every night he came into my room and I would be safer on the road, where he's at?"

"Right now we're assuming he's at home because he is not traveling with the WWF." Shane wondered if 'Taker knew where she lived, then rolled his eyes. Of course he knew where Sine lived, he probably knew her every move. Hell, he probably knew Shane was up here right now. He began rubbing his own temples, feeling the beginning of a spectacular migraine coming on. "Just… think about it."

~!~

Sine regretted taking up Shane on his offer the moment she stepped foot into a jam packed arena, following Shane. Her Dane –Rab- was right beside her though he wasn't meant for protection; she hoped it would never come to that. She genuinely liked animals; she preferred cats to dogs but… She had officially become a dog person after Midnight.

She wore nondescript clothing: jeans and a plain tee shirt, her hair pulled back into a pony tail, just trying to blend in. Though… with the dog at her side, that was a bit out of the question. "Slow down, Shane!" She ordered, trying to keep up with him as he strode purposefully down the hallway, stepping aside in time to avoid being knocked down.

Sighing, Shane halted and waited until she had caught up with him before taking her hand, shooting the dog a look. He still could not believe he had allowed her to bring the beast with her, but… somehow she had talked him into it. Of course, his semi-guilty conscious probably didn't help. He felt guilty for what she was going through now, all because she had helped his sister.

Once inside the Corporation's locker room, he ushered her in quickly, nodding when Paul 'Triple H' Levesque began barricading the door behind him. "Gentlemen, we have a guest tonight, let's keep the… tomfoolery, to a minimum."

Sine just kept to herself, sitting on a wooden bench with Rab lying on the floor, on top of her feet. She took inventory of the men surrounding her. Shane was discussing something with the man who had barricaded the door and she was just going to keep her head down and inwardly curse the day Calaway had moved into that damn house.

Though now she knew why he had moved there. He had needed some place off the path to hide Stephanie.

~!~

"What do you mean you're leaving me alone with…" Sine frowned, looking at the man in all red. The very tall man who also happened to be wearing a mask, interesting getup to say the least. She did a double take, realizing that the outfit he was wearing was one of her creations.

"His name is Kane." Shane said, looking at the big man. "And you're safe with him. She is safe with you, isn't she?"

Kane nodded.

"Good, okay then. Ten minutes tops, we'll be back."

Groaning, Sine began pacing the locker room floor, wishing she hadn't sent Rab to Monique a few days ago. At least he would have been company. Kane was silent, he just watched her, that was unnerving and there were several times she wanted to tell him to take a flying leap. Two things stopped her: 1) he was supposedly her protector and 2) he looked like he could squish her with one of those large feet.

~!~

Why was he not surprised? Seriously?

All Shane could do was stare grimly around the dressing room, which had been thoroughly destroyed. Kane was slumped in a corner, apparently knocked out and Sine was gone. He knew he was going to be hearing a mouthful from Vince when the old man found out. A world famous woman had just gone missing from his care.

"Find her." He ordered, getting the rest of the Corporation's attention. "Wherever 'Taker is, she'll be there too."

~!~

Ether. Sine knew that scent. Midnight smelled of ether. "Midnight, go away…" She grumbled, swatting at her face when it was brushed against, letting out a groan and rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in the pillow.

Midnight was dead.

Sine's entire body tensed and she let out a slow, shaky breath. The last thing she remembered was Shane leaving her alone with Kane and then the door bursting open. Two blond men had approached her while fighting ensued in the background, then… nothing.

"I wouldn't move too much, the ether is still wearing off." 'Taker stood beside the bed, staring down at her. "Did you have a nice rest?" He asked wickedly when she slowly rolled back over, his lips curving upwards into a smirk.

Ignoring him, Sine began the slow process of pulling herself into a sitting position, knowing that if she moved too fast, she would wind up reeling. As it was, taking her time worked out well and she felt only a passing dizziness. She took him in, noting he was wearing nothing but a pair of black pajama bottoms that hung rather low on his lean hips.

She had always noticed he was pale, but in the dimly lit room, he seemed even paler than usual and it contrasted against his long black hair and goatee. Further down his torso… and Sine somewhat registered that this was very strange of her to notice but, she was fairly certain his natural hair color was a dark red, maybe deep auburn. The room was too dark to be sure but she knew her colors and then when her mind also threw up the fact that if she was noticing what his natural color could be based on hair not on his head, his bottoms might be hanging just a bit too low.

Then she noted that she was no longer in her jeans and sweater but a nightgown, black and made of silk, her cheeks flooding with color.

As if feeling her eyes on him, 'Taker turned so she was presented with a full, up close view, snorting when she shirked back into the pillows. He wanted her to sweat this out, to think about what was going to come and purposefully raised a hand to caress his shoulder, where he now had a scar thanks to the corner of the Singer cutting him open. "I will admit this," He began, his voice low and dark, watching as she began putting up her cool and calm walls, knowing it was just a front. "You do know how to set a trap, Sine. But then again, so do I."

"I'm aware of that." Sine muttered, looking down as she slid her feet to the floor, testing her equilibrium as she stood up. Dangerous, this man was dangerous, dangerously insane. He had fucking kidnapped a woman just to marry her for power and now he had kidnapped her, she was dead and she knew it. "Now that you have me, what next?"

"Good question, the answer is: I don't know yet, there are many things that could come next." He watched as she began slowly walking away from the bed, her arms outstretched to help her precarious balance, finding this amusing. "You succeeded in knocking me out and saving Stephanie, you should definitely congratulate yourself on a job well done."

Sine turned to face him, confusion written all over her drawn face.

"I'm not going to marry her and I won't bother her again, because of you." He took a step towards her and she took a step away, evil intentions plain in his nearly luminescent eyes. "Do you know why that is?"

"No." She whispered hoarsely, not really wanting to know either.

"Because I have found something more interesting to go after: you. You saved her and condemned yourself. Pat yourself on the back, Sine, job very well done."

"I'd rather not." Sine muttered, hoping this meant she could go back to running. This was the guy who had spent months chasing her around the world, invaded her hotel rooms night after night to leave grisly messages or even wake her up to bellow at her for things such as dying her hair. He had followed her back home and murdered her pet. He had even somehow managed to reach her in New York.

She remembered Shane's words about losing interest and becoming bored. Well, she could be boring, right?

"You are rather feisty and perhaps too bold for your own good, which entices me." His voice was a hiss now, moving to stand directly in front of her. "Are you sorry for what you did?"

"I am not. I would do it all over again."

That somehow did not surprise him. "I told you Sine. Anytime, anywhere and any place. Did you honestly think Shane McMahon could protect you from me?"

"No, I didn't think he could and I told him as much." Sine sighed, kneading her temples, eyes slowly moving to the door. No doubt someone lurked out there to stop her. Though 'Taker had left the balcony doors open and she could climb, when circumstances called for it. That would mean passing him though. She took another step back, not liking how close he was to her.

Purposefully, he looked towards the open doors and then back down at her. "Don't even think about it."

She bit her lower lip.

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself involved in. Poor, precious, princess Stephanie… she was an innocent victim of a larger game. Do you even know why I took her to begin with? No, you don't." He answered his own question, beginning to get angry, his fists clenching at his sides. "You should learn to mind your own goddamn business, Reneire. Being nosy has gotten you caught between a rock and a hard place, how kind of the McMahon's to do that to you."

"No, not really." Sine had been under the impression he was going to marry Stephanie because Vince would then stop denying him control of the company, she didn't understand any of it and she really did not care too. While he was busy keeping his obvious anger in check, she darted around him and out onto the balcony.

A moment later, she was screaming in pain when she was pulled back, by her hair. "LET GO!"

"No!" He snarled in her ear, jerking her back into the room, his hand fisted in her hair. He genuinely wondered if she was serious or just plain stupid. Grunting, 'Taker threw her across the room towards the bed, watching impassively as she landed awkwardly on it and closed the balcony doors behind him, letting out a slow breath. "Did you honestly think you would get away with what you did?" He demanded, advancing on her again. "I have news for you, Sine; I will let you go when I am damn good and ready too and not a moment sooner."

All Sine could do was watch as he approached her, wondering what he was going to do. Kill her? Beat the hell out of her? She would definitely prefer a quick death over a slow beating; she had a very low tolerance for pain. Words failed her and all she could do was shake her head, scooting herself backwards on the bed when he kneeled at the foot of it.

Slowly, 'Taker slithered up over her body, trapping her beneath him and rested his cheek against hers. He could feel her trembling against him and chuckled darkly, trailing one large hand up her thigh. "You have a side of you that is just as dark as me, we should explore it."

"I do not." Her protest was marred by how weak her words came out, more focused on where he was touching her than his actual words. This man was psychotic, he could easily snap her in two and instead he was sending tiny sparks of pleasure through her. "What do you want from me, Mark?"