Chapter 45

Nervous didn't come close to how Rajani felt the next morning as they boarded a private jet plane that would take them straight to St. Louis, Missouri, where Raw 1000 would emanate from. Rajani refused to let go of Taker's hand the whole flight and drive there, suddenly wanting to be back in their safe bubble in Dallas. Something told her this was a very bad idea, but she kept her worries to herself and just breathed in and out slowly to calm her nerves.

Maybe it was her nervousness seeping into him, but Taker also had that feeling. Of course, whenever he seemed to step back into the WWE muck and mire, something happened, usually to Rajani. Maybe she should have stayed to home... No, that wouldn't have worked. One, she would have given him hell and come anyway. Two, he would have driven himself up a wall and brought her regardless. Not much variance in options there.

"Everythin' is going to be fine, Jani." He assured her, hoping nothing turned him into a liar.

"I know, just on edge for all the obvious reasons."

She cracked a hesitant smile, hoping he believed her and tensed when he pulled up to the arena. They dropped most of their things off at the hotel and only brought his wrestling attire. She wore a navy blue skirt with a white halter top that had a navy blue flower etched near the hem, trailing up the sides in a vine design.

Her dark hair was swept up on top of her head, keeping it off her neck since it was about a billion degrees outside. It was the end of July, one of the hottest days of the summer so far, so Rajani dressed comfortably, wearing white flip flops. If Stephanie didn't like it, she could get bent because it was too damn hot to dress up.

Stephanie could kiss Taker's ass as far as he was concerned. Though, Stephanie being Stephanie probably knew this was a packaged deal. She didn't get one without the other and, right now, her show needed the Undertaker, so anything she might not like, she would bite her tongue on and swallow. He smirked, being one of the big dogs had its perks sometimes. He sighed as they parked, shifting in his seat to stare at her.

"Not too late darlin', we could still go home."

"And disappoint all your adoring fans? Absolutely not!"

Grinning in spite of her nerves, Rajani hopped out of the Chevy Silverado and walked over to grab Taker's hand, after he retrieved his bag, both of them walking into the building together. She had no idea what awaited them tonight, but whatever it was they'd tackle it as a team. She refused to go out there with him though because, quite frankly, the Undertaker having a valet would open up a fresh can of worms that was better left alone. And destroy his character.

"Steph wanted us to see her first and, if I recall correctly, her office would be at the end of this hall."

"Well it looks like she sent out our favorite fabulous commando." Taker nodded his head towards Alex, who was fast approaching. He would never, ever wrap his head around the fact that Alex, who may or may not have been gay, was some sort of... weirdo James Bond.

"Metrosexual, say it with me now, met-ro-sex-ual." Alex said deadpan. "Don't make me take you down."

"No thanks, not my type."

Alex rolled his eyes, looking at Rajani. "You're looking... beautiful." He said finally, eyeballing her outfit. "I love the vines."

Taker snorted.

"Thank you, this is about as dressed up as I'm getting since it's hotter than Hades outside." She stated, squeezing Taker's hand to let him know Alex was just kidding and smiled at her favorite metrosexual. "So where is Stephanie?"

"In her office, but..." Alex sighed, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Before you go inside, there's something you need to know."

This was the 'something' that Rajani had feared happening and braced herself for whatever came out of Alex's mouth. "What is it, Alex?"

"It's regarding your segment tonight on Raw, Taker." He ignored the man's glare, waving him off dismissively. "The ass you'll be saving, rather..."

"What are you-?"

Just then, Stephanie's office door opened and none other than Kane/Glen Jacobs stepped out.

If Alex hadn't instantly stepped directly in his path, Taker would have gone and knocked his former best friend's head clean off for the part he had played in Cena's schemes involving Rajani. "Move." He growled, ignoring Stephanie. "You're giving him a free fuckin' pass?"

"Not necessarily free, now listen..."

Kane just watched with arms folded over his chest, looking the same as ever including the slight unctuous smirk.

After listening to Stephanie, inside of her office away from prying ears, all Rajani could do was gawk blankly at her boss. "You're kidding me, right?" She demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest and felt very uncomfortable with Kane in the same room as them. "I don't understand..."

"What's not to understand, Raja?" Alex thought Stephanie's plan was brilliant. "She wants you to focus on your personal life. You've given a lot to this company and this situation with John will be handled accordingly."

Alex could be a smooth talker when he wanted to be. "Precisely, there's no reason to bring you on-screen, it was my mistake to suggest it. I want you to remain my assistant, keep you off the television and as far away Cena as possible."

"Besides, I'm quitting this company to travel the world." That was a blatant lie, though what Rajani didn't know wouldn't hurt her. "So Stephy is going to need all the help she can get."

At this point, Stephanie shared a secret look with both Taker and Kane, her eyes telling them they would discuss what would REALLY happen to Cena once Rajani was out earshot. "Agreed then?"

Kane simply nodded. Wiseass and evil he may have been, but he was not totally stupid. He knew right now was the best time to keep his mouth shut. It was best to let Taker get used to the fact that he was there, alive and free.

Taker was sorely tempted to point out that Alex already did travel the world, but simply swallowed down the malarkey being served from the Princess's silver platter. Knowing her devious McMahon mind had come up with a solution to their Cena problem, Taker decided to wait and hear her out before deciding it he would tell Rajani or not. "Fine." He grunted, wondering how they were going to manage dislodging Rajani from Stephanie's ass tonight.

Rajani was completely confused and didn't know what to think about this sudden change of plans, her mind racing. How the hell was she supposed to focus on the upcoming wedding arrangements when a psycho was after her? When Stephanie asked her to go grab everyone some coffee, Rajani had no choice except to obey and stepped out, heading down the hallway. John wasn't in the building; Stephanie had increased security, so Rajani wasn't worried about roaming the arena by herself...much.

"Now that she's gone, we can get down to real business." Stephanie pulled a folder out of her desk and slapped it on the table, eyeing Mark as he reached for it. "Mark, there is a reason I asked Glen here tonight. The fact of the matter is: this storyline that Paul has whirling around in his brain is not going to work. Cena has already proved he's slick and slimy; hell he broke into your house in Texas with ample security, I might add. So, the only way I see stopping him once and for all is murder. My family is in danger now because of him and that won't be tolerated. Paul is against this, but if it means getting rid of the psychotic bastard, then so be it. Glen, I know you had ties with Cena and worked closely with him, I'm willing to overlook what you've done to Rajani, if you help us kill Cena. Dwayne is already in the loop and agreed to do it, so the only ones that didn't know are you two. Rajani is NOT to find out about this if you agree and if that means you lie to her, then lie. She will stop it from happening because she doesn't want his blood on any of our hands. I'm afraid that time has long passed and we have no other options. Questions?"

Alex stood there stone faced, already agreeing to help bring down John Cena.

Taker was all for killing John Cena, but even he was hesitating. This was Stephanie McMahon talking about killing a man, just as cool and calm as if she'd discussed the weather. And there were people in on this, more than he was comfortable with.

"And what's to stop Jacobs from spillin' the beans after the deed is done? Don't tell me you trust him now."

"She's not that big an idiot." Kane said, a hint of dark humor lacing his tone. "Stephy has her own way of ensuring I behave myself. Don't you Princess?"

"Don't wanna know. Let's just get down to it. Do we know where he is?"

"Everything you need to know is in that folder."

Stephanie had to come to grips with this plan before revealing it to anyone else because, truthfully, she wasn't a killer at heart. But her children were in danger as long as John Cena roamed the earth. Stephanie refused to let anything happen to them, even if it meant tainting her hands with blood. Not to mention Rajani had been through enough and Stephanie had grown rather fond of the woman, not wanting anything happening to her.

"He's in Malibu." Alex chirped, having gotten all the information for Stephanie. "And it just so happens the WWE will be there next Monday."

"I've already demanded that John needs to come back to work, it's mandatory."

"Now the hard part of this dance will be to make it look like an accident. So we have a week to figure this out and, like Stephanie said, Rajani is not to know anything about this or it will fall apart." Alex eyeballed Taker, not worried about Kane keeping his trap shut.

"Jani won't find out." Taker said gruffly, not liking the unsaid implication that he might spill the beans to his...fiancée. No, he would not; she'd probably leave him, or worse. "Your issue is making sure Cena actually shows up. A guy like him isn't going to care if it's 'mandatory' or not."

Taker had a point, but Kane still remained quiet, his mind already thinking ahead.

"If there's one thing I know about John, it's this job means everything to him. Granted, he's committed crimes that we'll overlook because of his stardom." She smirked, blue eyes flashing wickedly. "Trust me, he'll show." Stephanie could be vindictive when she wanted; she was a McMahon after all. "And something tells me you two will come up with a plan if for some odd reason he doesn't show up. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to look over some important paperwork regarding new potential stars. Mark, give these to Rajani..." She handed over another manila folder. "And tell her to go over them for me please. Thank you gentlemen."

Rajani returned with the coffee just as Mark, Glen and Alex walked out, her brown eyes locking on her fiancé. "Everything okay?" She asked, seeing how grave they all looked and stepped back instinctively when Kane moved forward. She did not and would never trust this man again as long as she lived; touching her throat, remembering what he did to her.

Stephanie was slick. She was one of the smartest women he had ever known, but she was seriously underestimating the mind of a demented man. Cena didn't care about his job, that was obvious. He had gone out of his way to attempt murder on co-workers; he had done things at work that clearly stated he had no regard for the WWE. But...there was always something to bring John around if need be.

"Yeah, everything is fine, darlin'." Taker said, wrapping an arm protectively around her waist and squeezing gently, letting her know he wasn't about to let anything happen to her, though he was mindful of the coffee.

Nodding, Rajani cracked a small smile up at him and took the manila envelope he handed her, heading into Stephanie's office, dropping her coffee off.

"Mark has the paperwork I want you to go over. You can stay in his dressing room if you want. I know you feel safer with him close by." Stephanie said, not looking up at Rajani and could already feel a migraine flaring up. "Your choice."

"I got it, thank you." As tempting as it was to stick by Mark's side, Rajani had a job to do and knew she couldn't stick to Mark's side like glue. "No, I'll be fine in here. He probably needs some space from me since we've been inseparable because of the asshole." She sat down in a chair, opened the envelope Mark handed her and began her work.

"Very well."

"Say one word to me and I'll fucking pound your face in."

"Technically, we're working together. That requires communication, don't you think?"

Taker whirled on his former best friend that had betrayed him for money and done god knows what to Rajani. "Yeah, I got your communication right here." He sneered, sending Kane backwards with a well thrown punch.

Kane cupped his mouth, staring intently at Mark before finally spitting out blood. "Feel better?"

As a matter of fact, he did.

Later that night, Rajani and Mark drove back to the hotel together, heading inside to go up to their room. That was until Mark realized his wallet was missing, so Rajani ended up taking the stairs alone, leaving the bags for him to cart up. As soon as she stepped into the stairwell, Rajani accidentally bumped into someone on her way up the stairs, hating how clumsy she was tonight. Brown eyes widened at the sight of Glen Jacobs standing there and Rajani fought the urge to run up the stairs away from him. After everything he'd done to her...Rajani opened her mouth to say something and instead turned, heading up the stairs away from him.