After 3:30

…..

1

He sat on the end of the bed in an upscale hotel room packing away his gear into suitcases he had bought specifically for it with a confused expression on his face wondering why he was putting someone else's belongings into luggage he thought did not belong to him.

He stared at the dark colored hooded costume he had worn to the ring the previous night with total awe plastered across his face as he carefully packed it away into the hanging space in the opening within the suitcase lid wondering aloud to himself of how anyone could afford such awesome ring attire.

Then he looked over at the black colored wide brimmed hat and Stetson coat still laying on the bed waiting to get packed into the open suitcase sitting on the floor which held his dark colored full legged scorpion ring tights, tank top, makeup, and boots within it while saying to himself how fortunate he was to be the one who was going to deliver all this badass gear to its rightful owner.

He had no idea all of this badass Undertaker gear belonged to him as he picked up the suitcase he had just snapped closed off the floor to study the fictitious Undertaker name and Death Valley Address stenciled across it.

He set it upright on the floor before he got up to retrieve the four wheeled dolly he had seen when he aimlessly staggered into the room earlier that morning after he had been cleared by the hospital to go sleep off the side effects of the powerful headache medicine they had given him.

He had no recollection of kissing his wife or hugging his kids before he sent them off to join the throngs of WWE Universe fans waiting to get into the Superdome while he made his way to the backstage area to prepare for his upcoming match which was one of the featured main events of an already stacked Wrestlemania Thirtieth Anniversary card.

The attendance was expected to be a record sellout of eager WWE Universe fans filling the massive Superdome to standing room only with another several million expected to watch the major event from around the world and on pay per view expecting him to defend his streak with winning results against whomever dared tried to challenge it.

His opponent for this thirtieth installment of the Greatest Show In Sports Entertainment was a mammoth of a man from the Upper Midwest known as Brock Lesnar, who had his sights set on doing the unthinkable of ending The Streak by challenging him to defend it at Wrestlemania where it had become a phenomenon of epic proportions which meant unthinkable rewards for anyone who was willing to not be intimidated by the man responsible for keeping it in tact.

In his corner, he had the likes of Paul Heyman, who was a master antagonist at getting his client the heat he needed by gloating to the WWE Universe at every event the duo attended in the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania that his Beast Incarnate was going to end The Streak one way or another by forcing Undertaker to look up at the ceiling lights on his back while the ref counted down his demise ending in Brock's hand being raised in victory.

Everyone in the WWE Universe knew Heyman was blowing hot air into a gimmicked balloon if he thought for one iota of a second he could convince them Brock Lesnar was going to be the one who defeated The Undertaker at an event all of them knew he could not be bested at no matter how much he pontificated to them about his client thinking he could pound him into his final resting place in the center of the ring mat.

What they didn't know was Undertaker had wanted to end The Streak several times over the years for it being a major burden he had to carry on his shoulders even though he understood why Vince McMahon would wisely talk him out of doing it by saying the problem was his opponents understanding the consequences over the positives of beating The Streak.

Undertaker was getting frustrated with Vince constantly coming back to him with the same result after he had tried as hard as he could to make them understand the importance of what beating The Streak would have on their careers which would be pushed to the highest ranks in the company with guaranteed major title shot victories only to have to listen to them revert back to understanding they were going against him and knowing what burden they were facing from the WWE Universe if they were to beat it.

….

Vince McMahon sat in his office chair staring out his high rise office window in One Titan Tower at the sea of early lunch hour traffic rushing by it on the freeway beyond its parking lot brooding away in his thoughts of having to face trying to find a Superstar on his current 2014 roster who was willing to accept his offer of being rewarded handsomely for ridding him of the challenge Undertaker had issued to him of finding a suitable opponent to end The Streak at that year's Wrestlemania Thirty.

The previous year's blockbuster once in a lifetime End Of An Era Steel Cage match which pitted his son in law, HHH against Undertaker with Shawn Michaels as guest referee had delivered beyond what was expected of its outcome with all three Superstars pulling out all the stops in what was billed as one of the most dramatically entertaining matches of the modern Wrestlemania era with Undertaker coming out the victor with a mark of twenty wins and zero loses.

This unthinkable achievement would without doubt cement his legacy in the legendary wrestling lore which would be passed down for generations after it to marvel in the accomplishment of one man who put his ring name in the same company of some of the most elite sports entertainment greats.

But, Mark Callaway was stubborn to continue on with keeping The Streak alive even though he understood the burden it put on Vince to have to dig out his rolodex from the bottom drawer of his desk to try to find a Superstar who was willing to forget the intimidation of who they were going against and the consequences of beating The Streak.

He was about to thumb through it to Roman Reign's phone number when he heard the front door swing open forcing him to look up to see his daughter, Stephanie McMahon walking with purpose into his office suite shutting the door behind her with a shocked look of surprise on her face:

"Daddy, I mean, Vince, you're not going to believe who is waiting out in the lobby to come in and see you" Stephanie said in a shocked tone as she stood in front of his desk and he reached out to grip her shaking hand after he had motioned for her to come around to stand next to his sitting form.

"Stephanie, are you okay?" Vince asked looking up at his daughter for assurance from her before he continued on with his questioning.

"Yes Daddy, I was not expecting to see him standing there staring at me in the creepy way he does" Stephanie said as her father looked up at her with a confused look on his face as he probed for more answers:

"Who is this "he", Stephanie?" Vince asked his daughter after he put his fingers in quotation marks.

"You wouldn't believe it until you saw him for yourself" Stephanie said in an evasive tone as she walked around to the front of her father's desk while he threw his hands up in frustration before he pointed to the closed door in the back of his office:

"You go get some coffee out of the break room kitchen while I go see who this "he" is whose got you so riled up" Vince said sternly to Stephanie as she nodded her head making her way to the break room at the back of Vince's office.

Vince buttoned up the cuffs on his beige colored buttoned down shirt while he adjusted his red colored tie to a tighter fit around his neck as he got up and made his way from his office at the back of the building past an open office space full of bullpen cubbies to a big double glass door which led into One Titan Tower's front lobby area.

He looked over at the rows of chairs in the lobby waiting area and was shocked to see a short balding chubby man in a dark gray suit and reddish tie with polished dress shoes staring intensely at him with a big grin on his face.

To his left sat a massive muscular looking beast of a man dressed in a black long sleeved sweater, blue jeans and dark colored Timberland boots with a Mohawk buzz cut with intense looking blue eyes and cocky looking smile plastered across his face.

Vince's heart skipped a beat when he realized who he was making eye contact with and it was replaced with total elation as he found his voice again and addressed the duo sitting in front of him:

"Brock, Paul, what are you doing here?" Vince said in a shocked elated tone as the duo arose to their feet extending their hands out for him to shake as Heyman corrected Vince with a wag of his index finger after they both had shook hands with him:

"The question is not what we are doing here" Heyman corrected pointing his index finger in the air for reference.

"The question to you is why are we here?" Heyman said while pointing his index finger at Vince who nodded his head realizing Paul had said what he was thinking.

"I was going to ask that very question to you both of what brings you here to Titan Tower during the lunch hour?" Vince asked feeling his mouth go dry as he looked with a hint of jealousy at Brock's massive arms threatening to rip out of his sweater if he chose to flex them for his amusement as he turned his attention back to Heyman.

"My client and I were in the area and we figured we might stop by to negotiate a deal regarding The Streak since he is no longer tied up in other affairs" Heyman said smoothly putting one hand in his left pocket and his right hand on Brock's mountainous shoulder.

Vince thought he felt his jaw hit the floor at the golden opportunity standing before him and without even thinking twice about it, he raised his hand toward the huge double glass doors for Paul and Brock to follow him to his office at the back of the building:

"Follow me into my office and we'll see what we can work out" Vince said in his gravely promoter voice as Brock and Heyman followed him through the huge glass double door passing the office cubby bullpen space to the back of the building where a massive crystal glass door that said Mr. McMahon etched in big bold lettering across it was opened.

They then sat themselves down in two dark colored leather office chairs facing the front of the thick mahogany colored desk as Stephanie set out three coffee mugs in front of them and poured each man a cup of freshly brewed coffee as Vince took a seat in his button back cherry leather colored office chair he pulled up so he could fold his hands on his desk.

As she was pouring coffee into Brock's mug, he winked at her in a flirtatious way which made her immediately flash him her wedding ring as he laughed to himself with Heyman saying something into his ear neither she nor her father heard as his focus was shifted back to her father signaling her to leave all three men to their meeting as she turned and walked out of his office shutting the door behind her.

Vince did not waste any time getting down to business after all three men took one last sip of their coffee and set their mugs down on brown marble coasters he had pulled out from the top drawer of his desk:

"It's really simple, Brock" Vince began looking him straight in the eye as he spoke:

"You know the type of spot I've been in over the last several years with trying to find an opponent who is willing to look past the intimidation of beating The Streak" Vince explained as Heyman eyed his client who nodded his acknowledgement.

"You also know the type of rewards and the type of consequences you are facing should you accept beating The Streak?" Vince questioned Brock who appeared bored from being questioned like this as Heyman cut in to advocate for him to diffuse any burnt bridges from being relit between the two men:

"My client understands all the ramifications he's facing with beating The Streak" Heyman said to Vince in an annoyed tone tapping his fingers on his desk as he continued:

"What my client and I want to know is what you are willing to offer him as compensation for doing this dirtiest of deeds?" Heyman said trying to juice up his client's credibility by advocating his worth to Vince who sat back in his office chair pondering his request.

He took a second to contemplate what Heyman had said before he threw an offer onto the table by scribbling down some notes on a notepad he had sitting beside where his rolodex used to be as he looked at Brock directly in the eye while he gave him the details of his offer:

"I'm willing to pay your client ten million dollars upfront with an additional twenty million in bonuses over the next two years with guaranteed pushes and major title shots at the highest levels this company can offer for his agreement of beating The Streak by making Undertaker look good during the entire match and letting him have ring time with the fans after the finish of pinning him clean" Vince explained as he saw Brock throw his arms up in frustration as Heyman tried to calm him down only to get waived off as he aired his frustration out on him:

"Do you think I'm some kind of gullible fool who is going to accept your shitty childish offer which makes me look like something all three of us in this office know is not going to work in the eyes of the people you circulate with?" Brock snapped pounding his fist on the desk angering Vince when hot coffee was stained all over his notepad.

"Listen Brock, this is the best offer I'm giving you for what you are worth to this company knowing you have a tendency to pack your bags and leave it when something better comes along" Vince snapped back as Heyman wisely got up out of his chair and stepped in front of his client who was about to arise from it.

"I beg to differ my dearest Vincent Kennedy McMahon" Heyman interjected in that tone of voice which made him grit his teeth when his full given name was announced.

"This is about who you circulate with and I know in my heart the people you circulate with are not going to like hearing how you squandered a big money opportunity of ending The Streak with an opponent who is willing to blow off all the backlash associated with it" Heyman pointed out in his smooth tone as Vince's ire was raised as he pounded his fist on the desk further staining his notepad with coffee:

"Dammit Heyman, this contract we are negotiating has nothing to do with who I circulate with and you of all people should know if any news of this gets out into the general public.." Vince trailed off as Heyman decided to stir the pot.

"Tell you what Vince, I think my client will take his business elsewhere and let you deal with who you circulate with when I tell them about this meeting we had where you refused to listen to my client's demands" Heyman snapped pointing his finger at Vince.

"Come on Brock, let's go see if we can get you reinstated into UFC.." Heyman said as Brock rose to his feet and Vince wisely had a change of heart once he saw his golden opportunity get up to leave his office:

"Brock, please don't leave" Vince begged in a different tone of voice as both men looked at him intensely with Heyman's hand wrapped around the doorknob ready to open it to lead his client out of the building if he did not hear a valid apology from the older man.

"I apologize if I was out of line towards you and I want to hear what your offer is" Vince admitted as Heyman motioned for both of them to sit back down at the head of his desk as Heyman smiled coyly adjusting his tie as he sat back down to the left of Brock who was back to the cocky smile knowing his advocate had worked his magic to put them back in control of this negotiation.

"That's more like it" Heyman said in a controlling tone as he watched Vince tear off his coffee stained notepad page and throw it in the trash bin by his feet in frustration as he was back to folding his hands on the desk as Heyman cleared his throat reaching into his suit coat.

"Now this is what my client demands of you to provide for him for his role in beating The Streak" Heyman began by pulling a contract out of his inner suit pocket and placing it in front of Vince while he went over the details of it.

"My client demands you to sign this contract I have prepared on his behalf which outlines he is to receive unlimited title shots he will defend at his choosing over a part time schedule to be determined by you" Heyman explained as Vince read over the contract making eye contact with him every once in awhile to let him know he was listening to him.

'You will then negotiate to have him appear at select major events with the highest paid money possible over four years for his participation in ending The Streak to be renegotiated into a new deal once said scheduled events are completed over the four year period" Heyman continued reveling in watching Vince slump in his chair gripping his temples as both men had a silent chuckle to themselves as he gave out the money figure which made him go wide eyed with bewilderment when he heard it:

"At which time you will pay no less than twenty million per event he promotes himself at to be split in four million dollar increments along with any bonus kickbacks he gets from sponsors and going over or putting an opponent over at scheduled major events of his choosing" Heyman finished smiling coyly at Vince.

Vince felt his skin moving within his skull which threatened to rip out the front of his forehead at this unforeseen demand which had just sat itself in his lap as his vision was going blind from the throbbing of his temples from mulling over the ultimatum Heyman had just smacked him in the face with.

Never in nearly a half century of running his WWE empire did Vincent K McMahon ever feel like he wasn't in control nor in that nearly fifty years of promoting it did he feel he was weak and at a disadvantage.

Yet, there he was holding the kryptonite in his hand which was one of the most potent contract offers he had ever read in his life reducing him to a weakened little boy with a monumental decision at hand which would ultimately change the face of sports entertainment for the foreseeable future as he looked back at the two men who might as well have been Loki and Apocalypse staring back at him with twin cocky grins plastered across their faces.

"So say I decide to tear up this offer by throwing it in the trash right in your client's face?" Vince said in a defiant tone testing the waters to see if Heyman would crater at his threat.

"Then you don't have the services of my client when we both walk out of this office and tell the media who followed both of us here that you are intending to end The Streak by bribing your performers into contracts you think you can get away with paying them minimum wage" Heyman said without blinking an eye.

Vince had heard several managers and wrestling advocates threaten to expose his operation to the media always ending up crawling back to his feet begging him for the original offer he wanted to give them once they realized who they were dealing with as he laughed at Heyman's petty threat.

"I've been head of this company for nearly a century and I know you who call yourselves "managers" and "advocates" always end up back in my office seeing things my way" Vince scoffed in a cocky tone until he saw that the bald headed younger man across from him was also laughing.. with him which forced him to close his mouth.

"You forget Vincent Kennedy McMahon that I too have owned a wrestling promotion where I heard it too and unlike you, I actually went ahead and did it myself right in front of the media's face to where I lost all my backers and my promotion ended up in your hands who crippled what was left of it" Heyman said as his laugh went back to the same cocky smile he came in with.

"ECW crippling itself was your doing, Paul" Vince pointed out in a dry tone spinning his pen between his index fingers.

"True, it was my doing, but its ultimate collapse was your fault when you couldn't pass up your own ego getting you booed out of Philadelphia Ballroom arena where you used Cena to prove how clueless you were at promoting to an audience who understood the fix when they saw it" Heyman snapped tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

"This still doesn't convince me to not tear this contract up and put the contract I originally offered in front of your client for him to sign since you don't control what happens here anymore" Vince said sharply without missing a beat adjusting his tie to a looser fit.

"I may not control what happens here, but your backers do and they do not forget about what you did to ECW or WCW" Heyman said smartly as he saw the older man's eyes go wide with shock.

"My backers would laugh you out of the room since they were in on buying ECW and WCW" Vince said in a cocky tone nervously laughing as Heyman picked up on his nervousness.

"These backers used to work for me and were only humoring you to show pity on the fact you use your father's money to bribe promotions out of existence" Heyman pointed out coldly as Vince scowled at him unbuttoning his cuffs with fists clenched up.

"You wouldn't dare you little overbloated croaking warted toad" Vince snapped in his growling gravily voice as he rose to his feet.

"Oh but I will since I know the highest of the high who would be more than interested in hearing of my client's treatment here today in this office" Heyman said smoothly without moving a muscle in his chair as Vince plopped down in his chair grumbling silent cuss words under his breath while he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"You either sign the contract I gave you or my client walks out the door and leaves it open for the throngs of media who are just itching to get even with you" Heyman said not budging an inch even as Vince glared with his teeth bare as he slid the contract over to where he was looking down at it.

"You can't force me to sign anything since you don't have control here" Vince repeated in a harsh tone as he picked up the contract and was about to tear it up.

"How does a visit to 57th avenue sound to you, Brock" Heyman said to the big muscular blond man next to him who got up without a word and made his way towards the door leading out of Vince's office.

"By the time lunch is over, I would suggest you have a lawyer present for your own protection" Heyman said in a cocky tone as he reached in his inside suit pocket for his cell phone as Vince suddenly had a change of heart when the sound of dialing numbers felt like gunshots to his heart.

"I will look at the contract you have offered and agree to what your client demands" Vince said in a sudden reluctant tone as Heyman ended the call and motioned Brock back to his seat on his left side.

"I figured you would see things our way" Heyman said in a snark arrogant tone sitting back down beside Brock after he put his cell phone back in his inner suit pocket.

"Consider this a gift you shit faced little.." Vince cussed under his breath as Heyman quickly cut him off.

"Tut tut, we must show our manners around my client" Heyman chided wagging his finger at the mortified older man.

Vince ripped the middle door of his desk open locating his WWE copyright printing ink stamp he marked each page with to bind the contract deal so it could not be broken without legal action.

Page by page was stamped and signed before the contract was pushed back to Brock with force as Vince sat in his chair saying inaudible things under his breath while he watched Brock painstakingly go through each page signing it under Heyman's instruction before it was slid back to Vince.

"My client is satisfied with your agreement and if you will excuse us, we have a plane to catch back to Minnesota so he can finish his move to Saskatchewan" Heyman said as he and Brock got up and walked out of Vince's office without another word to leave him to his own thoughts as they boarded a waiting bus which was soon headed for the airport.