Chapter 8: Nic

"We it made here alive." Punk teased as he held onto the roof handle of the car.

"Oh, shut it." AJ laughed as she parked in the parking lot at the gym. "I'm not a bad driver."

"You're not a good one." Punk chuckled.

"If I was so bad then you wouldn't be letting me drive your car." AJ pointed.

"I'm being a good boyfriend." Punk smirked, turning to her. "How else would you get to your nerd thing."

"It's not a nerd thing, I'm tutoring." AJ corrected.

"Same thing." He shrugged. "Hey, I was a nerd too. Just the kind that got picked on every day."

"Really?" She questioned.

"Yeah. They didn't like the way I looked, the way I talked. It was a different thing every day." He told her. "They kicked my ass sometimes. Other times I kicked theirs. Then I really started to rank up in the gym, and they never kicked my ass again."

Punk and AJ smiled at each other. They've been dating for a few months now, and it's been nothing short of amazing so far.

"Okay, and what kind of nerd am I?" She asked.

"The smart hot one. The one where movies try to convince us they need a makeover when they're already clearly a ten." Punk explained. "Which is why I am extremely jealous because one of my fantasies has been to have a hot nerdy tutor."

"Technically, you have one. Whenever you wanna learn about the quadratic formula, I'm here for you, babe." She smirked at him then leaned in for a kiss, and Punk captured her lips.

"What time will you be done?" Punk asked slowly parting his lips from AJs.

"Around 4, probably. How about you?" AJ asked back.

"Same for me. I just wanna get in a couple good hours anyways. Don't wanna overtrain." He replied. "After, movies? Then, you can stay the night, and learn me all about the Scarlet Letter."

"Scarlet Letter? Interesting choice. Yes to movies, but no horror or romantic comedy. An action one. As for the spending the night... I don't know about that." AJ shook her head. "I don't think Dean likes me all that well."

"What? Of course, he does. I mean, lately he's been a bit down. Loss his last fight, and the three before that. He's coming to the realization that maybe making a career out of this isn't for him." Punk told her. "He likes you. He's a blunt guy if he didn't like you, he would have told you."

"I just don't want him to feel like I'm overstaying my welcome. I'm there almost every night." She explained.

"That's because we want you there. Yeah, I said we because Dean wants you there, too. Couldn't stop talking about the guava cookies you baked." Punk smirked. "And those Christmas lights you put up around the place even though it's not even close to December. You bring lots of joy to that shitty old apartment."

"Well, when you put it that way..." AJ gave him a sly smile. "I'll be there."

"Great." Punk smiled back at her. "I do think it's very cute how you want Dean to like you, though."

"He's like your brother. I like you, and I want your family to like me." AJ said.

"Yet your family doesn't even know of my existence." Punk pointed out.

"They know.. that I'm seeing someone. I think." She thought about it, and Punk raised his eyebrow. "Hey, it's not like I'm hiding you or our relationship. My parents are barely home so it is hard to even get a minute of their time. Let alone tell them that I have boyfriend."

"I'm just teasing. I get it." Punk smiled. "I love you."

AJ was bit taken a back from that statement considering this was the first time he said to her. It was the first time either of them actually said those words. Sure, she knew he did, but to hear it out loud from his mouth left her shocked.

"I love you." She said back almost instantly but to her it felt like she waited forever to get the words out.

"I better let you go." Punk nodded. "Be safe, and text me as soon as you get there."

"I will. You be safe in there, too." AJ nodded towards him.

"Always." He leaned in and pecked her on the lips then opened the car door.

"Wait." AJ called out, and Punk turned back around to her. "I love you."

Punk let out a little laugh at how eager she seemed to say those three words now.

"I love you." He said back with a huge smile then got out the car, closing the passenger door and watched AJ drive off.

"So that's the girlfriend." A man said walking up behind Punk who turned around startled.

"Nic. Hey." Punk said once he saw his friend. "Yeah, that's.. that's her."

"I see by the giant smile on your face." Nic chuckled as him and Punk walked to the door to the gym.

"Yeah, she's pretty great." Punk nodded. "Ready for your fight? 2 weeks away."

"Hell yeah." Nic replied as Punk opened the door of the gym and they walked in. "You ready? I mean, you're on the same card."

"Yeah, I am. It's my first fight in the welterweight division so that's exciting in itself." Punk replied, as him and Nic walked downstairs to the main gym area.

"I was gonna ask you about that. Why the move?" He pondered as they both walked into the locker room.

"Lots of the reasons. The cut getting too much, and I'm pretty much shitting on my opponents." Punk shrugged, opening his locker. "Plus, you're lightweight champ-."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" He cut Punk off.

"I mean, I'm moving up the rankings. Only a matter of time before I'm given a title shot." He told him.

"So? You don't wanna fight me? You think you'd shit on me or something." Nic raised an eyebrow as he opened his locker.

"That's not what I meant, dude." Punk shook his head. "And of course, I don't wanna fight you. You're my teammate, and my friend."

"You're right. Sorry, man. I'm just a bit tense." Nic told him. "Tate told me someone who does scouts for Dana is gonna be at the fights to see me."

"Seriously?" Punk asked, and Nic nodded. "Congrats, man. This is huge."

"I know. That's why I'm a little more tense than usual lately." He explained. "I've basically been living here."

"Don't you think that's a little too much? I mean, you don't know wanna overwork yourself." Punk said concerned for his friend.

"Are you kidding me? If anything, I need to put in even more hours." Nic defended. "I think you're the one slacking off lately. You're barely in the gym as much as you used to, and I think it has something to do with your newfound girlfriend."

"Respectfully, don't mention my girlfriend like that again. My time at the gym has nothing to do with her. Tate's the one who told me I should slow down." Punk defended.

"Not surprising. He babies the fuck out of you."

"What?"

"Why do you think he didn't tell you about the scout coming, huh? Probably didn't want the added pressure on you because he thinks you can't handle it." Nic told him. "Yeah, you've been kicking ass but let's be honest you haven't been contested."

"So, what exactly is he protecting me from? Losing? I'm not undefeated, I know what it's like to lose." Punk said starting to get irritated.

"Yeah, but those losses came early. You have your little winning streak going on, and you're talking the big talk now." Nic continued to prod. "Your daddy knows what a loss would do to that ego."

"You're really starting to piss me off, man." Punk gritted out.

"Good. Let me be the one that lights a fire under your ass." Nic asserted. "Maybe you should learn to keep your head in the gym and not between a set of legs."

Punk was fuming. Nic had a knack of getting under his skin, but ever since his last win he's been stepping on his toes more so than usual, and he didn't know why.

"I'm gonna let that go because emotions are high right now. But I'm telling you again, keep her name out of your mouth." Punk hissed.

"Hey, is everything okay in here?" Tate walked into the locker room the two men were in.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Nic assured turning his head to Tate then back to Punk. "See you out there."

Nic grabbed his gear from his locker then walked past Tate out of the locker room.

"You okay?" Tate asked Punk. "It seemed pretty tense in here."

"I'm fine. It's just Nic being Nic." Punk nodded then got his gear out of his locker and was about to walk out when Tate stopped him.

"You sure?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I said I'm fine. Do me a favor and stop treatment me like some kid." Punk hissed then walked out the locker room.

"Of all the sports she's playing soccer." Dean scoffed as him and Renee walked in the gate of the place Dani was gonna play her game in.

"You're still on this?" Renee laughed.

"Hell yeah. She's the daughter of one of the best fighters there was. She was taping kids out at the gym when she was 6, and she's got hell of a punch." Dean pointed out. "And she plays sports like soccer... and softball."

"She's a good kicker." Renee pointed out.

"More of a reason why she should be a fighter." Dean shrugged. "I swear, our daughter is gonna be wearing a Gi before she's even wearing diapers."

"Daughter?" Renee questioned.

"We're having a girl. Phil already damned me." Dean said dramatically, and Renee laughed at him.

"Yeah... okay." Renee shook her head then looked over and saw AJ walking towards them.

"Hey, you guys made it." AJ greeted Renee and Dean with a hug, and that's when they noticed Jeremy was by her side.

They have been "dating" for a few weeks now. And even though everyone around AJ have been suspicious of him since they found out what happened, she seemed happy, so they let it go.

"You guys know Jeremy." AJ pointed to him.

"Hey." He greeted and Renee waved at him meanwhile Dean just rolled his eyes.

"Dani will be excited to see you guys." AJ tried to break the tension. "I feel like every game she thinks no one will show."

"What? We show up to every game." Renee laughed.

"You know how she gets." AJ smiled while shaking her head.

"Phil's coming, too." Dean chimed in then looked at Jeremy.

"Good. He should be here." AJ nodded. "Anyways, we were just headed to go get Dani's knee pads from the car."

"Okay, we're gonna go find some seats." Renee told her, and she nodded then walked to the car with Jeremy. Dean kept his eyes on them walking away. "Really, Dean?"

"What? I'm sorry I'm not okay with her dating a guy that drugged her." Dean turned his head back to Renee once AJ and Jeremy were out of sight.

"Would you keep your voice down? AJ told me that in confidence." Renee whispered to him. "Besides, she said she took it on her own. And it was all consensual."

"Consensual or not, why does he even have drugs like that on him? Huh? Defend that." Dean said, frustrated that everyone was accepting the fact that AJ was dating this Jeremy guy.

"I'm not defending that, and I'm sure as hell not defending him. I don't like him, either." Renee made clear. "But AJ seems happy."

"And I would be happy for her if I couldn't see that it's all a front. Ever since she... well, you know, she hasn't been the same." Dean said. "She's doesn't even want to talk about it. Not you, to me—she hasn't even told Phil."

"She probably doesn't feel comfortable talking about it. As for the other thing, she's obviously scared of how Punk will react." Renee said, and just as she did Punk walked up from behind them.

"Scared of how I'll react to what?" He questioned causing them to jump. "My bad, but what's up?"

Dean and Renee looked at each other, trying to come up with a save then turned back to Punk.

"How you'll react to that." Dean said, pointing behind Punk, and saving them from a very long & painful conversation.

Punk turned around and saw AJ on the soccer field putting Dani's knee pads on for her and Jeremy standing right beside them.

He knew they were a thing now from what Dani told him when it was his weekends to get her. But he didn't expect him to be accompanying her to things like this.

"I'll be back." Punk said to Dean and Renee then walked over to where AJ, Dani, and Jeremy were at.

"Dad!" Daniela exclaimed when she looked up and saw him walking up to them. Then, ran to meet him halfway instead and hugged him.

"Hey, squirt." Punk greeted, hugging her back as AJ and Jeremy walked over to them. "How many goals are you going to score today?"

"All of them, duh." Daniela confidently said as she pulled away from the hug.

"That's my girl." Punk smirked then leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"You know it. Anyways, I better go with my team. Bye, dad." Daniela told him then turned to her mom and hugged her. "Bye, mom."

"Bye, baby. you're gonna do so great but remember the most important thing is to have fun." AJ told her and she nodded then pulled away from the hug.

"Good luck, kid." Jeremy said to her before she walked away.

"Luck is for losers." Daniela smirked then ran off to where her team was at.

"God, I love her to death." Punk smiled then looked over at AJ. "Hey."

"Hey. I'm glad you made it." AJ nodded.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Punk replied then looked over to Jeremy. "Jeremy."

"Punk." He acknowledged back.

"I think I see Dean and Renee; we should probably go take our seats with them." AJ said.

"Yea-." Punk said.

"Let's go." Jeremy said at the same time which caused Punk to glare at him.

"Okay, then." AJ nodded for them to follow her over to where Dean and Renee where at in the bleachers.

"He's such a fucking tool." Punk complained as him and Dean were in line at the snack stand because Renee wanted some popcorn.

"Tell me about it." Dean rolled his eyes. "Dude styles in hair in a fauxhawk by choice."

"Does he look familiar to you? Jeremy? I just feel like I've seen him before." Punk told Dean.

"Nope. Is that why you keep on looking over at him and AJ?" Dean asked.

"That, and the fact that he can't keep his hands to himself." Punk gritted out. "He may be separated but we're still technically married like have some respect."

"Yeah, I don't think I've seen him before." Dean shrugged then moved ahead in line.

Punk folded his arms then looked over to where AJ, Jeremy and Renee were sitting. Jeremy leaned in and said something to AJ which caused her to let out a laugh, and in return made Punk gag.

He turned his attention away from them and looked over to field where he saw his daughter sitting on the bench. She was chugging a bottle of water, all fired up, and he couldn't help but smile.

But something caught his eye. Well, someone standing outside the gate watching the game is what. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Hey." Punk hit Dean's arm to get his attention.

"Damn. What?" Dean turned around to Punk.

"Is that Nic over there?" Punk asked, pointing to over to the man standing outside the gate.

Dean looked over where Punk was pointing, and his eyes widen.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." Punk replied. "I haven't talk to him in years."

"Keep it that way." Dean said, and Punk nodded. "I'm serious, Phil."

"When did you become Tate 2.0? You take over the gym and suddenly you act just like him." Punk noted. "I know to stay away from him, okay?"

"Okay." Dean put his hands up then Punk was about to the walk away. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go see why he's here." Punk shrugged.

"Did you not just hear a word I just said?" Dean was dumbfounded.

"He's lurking outside the gate of my daughter's soccer game. I don't really have a choice." Punk reasoned.

"Fine." Dean sighed. "You go, I have to get my very pregnant wife some popcorn. Just don't let him manipulate you."

"Sure thing, dad." Punk mocked and walked away.

"Cunt." Dean gave Punk the finger then shook his head and looked down and saw a little boy in line looking up at him. "What?"

"Hey, enjoyed the show?" Punk asked with a huge smile on his face as he walked up to AJ who was standing around in the arena after the small crowd cleared out.

"It was better than the last one. Still watched between my fingers, though." She laughed then jumped up and pulled him into a hug. "You were amazing."

"Thank you." Punk said slyly as he buried his face into her long dark hair with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Seriously, you were so great." AJ said breaking the hug and looking Punk in the eyes. "You just came out, started throwing punches and the guy was out cold."

"Well, you just made it sound more cooler than it is." Punk chuckled.

"It was cool. It was super cool." AJ gleefully said then reached up and touched his face. "Plus, no damage to the face. A bonus for me."

"Yeah? Well, I kind of wanted to make a good first impression in my new weight class." Punk told her.

"Punk." Nic walked up to Punk and AJ. "Have you seen the scout around anywhere?"

"No, I just got out here." Punk replied. "But that performance was something, dude. You dominated him all five rounds."

"I know. Shitted all over him." Nic smirked then he noticed AJ was standing there. "This the girlfriend?"

"Yeah, Nic this is AJ." Punk gestured to her. "AJ... Nic."

"Nice to meet you. I don't know much about this, but Phil's right you seemed to be clearly winning all rounds." AJ said.

"Yeah well, hopefully I did enough to get a contract." Nic looked around to see if he could see the scout.

"You will. You're too good not to." Punk patted him on the back then a guy with a suit walked up to the three of them.

"Gentlemen. Hi, I'm Steve Allen." He put out his hand and shook both Punk & Nic's hand. "Great fights tonight, and both of you had outstanding performances."

"Thank you." Punk and Nic said in unison with smiles on their face.

"I'm a scout for the UFC. I go to the little shows like these that Dana is too busy to go to." Steve told them. "And I will say, I'm extremely impressed with the talent here."

"Yeah, and the lightweight division is the most stacked one, by the way. And I'm champion, leading the pack." Nic asserted.

"Yeah." Steve nodded at him then looked over to Punk. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Me?" Punk pointed to himself.

"Him?" Nic raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're Punk right? Your head trainer, Tate? He's been telling me about you." Steve informed. "Can we talk over there?"

Punk was a bit taken aback. He's barely had 10 fights and his record is 7 wins and 3 losses. He didn't expect to be in this position to possibly be getting a pro contract at the highest stage so soon. But he wasn't gonna pass up on it.

"Yeah, um... yes we absolutely can." He looked at Nic who was visibly pissed then at AJ who kind of was just standing there listening in on the conversation. "I'm sorry. This could be a minute."

"Go, take all the time you need. I don't have anywhere to be." AJ insisted with a smile. She didn't know much about fighting but she knew that this could be a huge opportunity for Punk.

"Okay." Punk nodded to her, looked at a very pissed off Nic once last time then walked off to the other side of the arena with Steve. "So, what's up?"

"I like you, kid. I like you a lot, and I know Dana's gonna like you too." Steve told Punk. "You familiar with the ultimate fighter?"

"Yeah. It's like an reality show for fighters." Punk nodded.

"We want you as a contestant on this upcoming season. We'll fly you out to Vegas so you could live with a house full of fighters and compete for a UFC contract." Steve explained.

"That sounds amazing, it really does. And I don't wanna seem ungrateful but my teammate Nic, he's lightweight champion. His performance tonight was dominate." Punk said. "You came here to scout out him. I feel like a piece of shit taking this opportunity from him-."

"You're not taking any opportunity away for anyone. Your friend is great. He's a grinder. He'll make it to the UFC if he keeps on going." Steve told him. "But you, you're a star. Your fighting style, the flashy knockouts—you have the look and the nickname. I came here to see you, and I saw what I needed to see."

"I'm sorry, this is just-." Punk was trying to find the right words.

"Overwhelming? I know." Steve nodded. "Which is exactly why I'm giving you a week to accept or deny my offer. I highly advise you to go with the former. This could be a once and a lifetime opportunity. Is a week enough time?"

"Yeah, it's more than enough. It's perfect." Punk smiled, feeling as if he was on cloud nine right now.

AJ and Nic looked on at the men chatting it up.

"I can't believe him. This is my opportunity. Such bullshit." Nic shook his head angrily.

"It's not his fault they wanted him." AJ defended, sort of appalled by Punk's supposed friend being so angry at this.

"If he accepts that contract, it will absolutely be his fault. He knows how much I had riding on this. He knows how much I need the money." Nic turned to AJ.

"And he doesn't?" AJ bit back, not backing down.

"He has Tate, he'll be fine." Nic brushed off. "This is my future he's fucking with."

"He barely lets Tate help him with anything. He likes to do things on his own. Besides, you're not only one who has to think about their future." AJ firmly said, then wrapped her arms around herself.

Nic noticed she did that and it clicked.

"Unbelievable." Nic laughed while looking AJ up and down.

"What?" She asked, covering herself more. Feeling very uncomfortable with him staring her down.

"Punk loves fighting more than he loves anything. Or anyone, for that matter. So, whatever is it you're hiding from him-." Nic started.

"I don't know what you're trying to get at, but I don't think you know Phil as good as you think you do." AJ cut him off.

"You're right because I didn't think he'd be stupid enough to not wear a condom." Nic said harshly, and AJ's eyes widen. "I'm not trying to be an insensitive dick. I'm looking out for my friend, and kinda looking out for you, too."

"You don't know anything." Her eyes were starting to water.

"You don't actually think you two will start a family or something? He's 22 years old with a whole career ahead of him. You think he'll jump for joy when you tell him?" Nic laughed. "I'll tell you what, I'm gonna tell you what Punk will tell you."

"And what's that?" AJ managed to get out, holding back tears.

"Get rid of it." He said then walked away from AJ.

AJ wiped the tears from her eyes then looked back over to Punk who was laughing it up with the scout. She knew deep down everything that Nic was saying is true. It's like she wanted this either. She was 18 years old with plans to go to college, and make a career for herself.

She had to do what's best for the both of them. She pulled out her phone then dialed a number.

"Hi, um... I'd like to make an appointment."

"Punk. Long time no see." Nic turned to face Punk and held his hand out.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Punk asked harshly.

"I'm watching the game." Nic pointed towards the field.

"So, I'm supposed to believe you just happened to be here at the game my daughter's playing in?" Punk questioned.

"I've been in prison for the last 7 years, remember? Do you really think I have the time to keep up with where the hell you'll be at on a Wednesday afternoon?" Nic pushed back. "Believe it or not Punk—I know you love to believe it does—but the world doesn't revolve around you."

"When did you get out?" Punk sighed.

"A few months ago. Of course, you wouldn't know since you went all Hollywood and cut everyone who didn't fit that image out of your life." Nic said.

"You know exactly why I cut you out." Punk said.

"Cause I sold some drugs? News flash, Mr. Straight Edge, so did you." He said back.

"It's not the same thing. I didn't do it because I wanted to." Punk gritted out.

"And you think I did? I did it because my friend took my opportunity to go professional. Then that friend blew it in his first three professional fights and was piss poor broke, and I helped him." Nic snapped as Punk just looked on at him. "I helped you. You got in too deep, you got caught and your daddy bailed you out. Meanwhile, I was the one who spent 7 years in prison. It's all your fault."

"I-". Punk started but stopped. He was at lost for words.

"And if you must know, the reason I'm here is because my daughter plays for the other team." Nic pointed to the light brown-haired girl who was wearing the opposite color of his daughter. "I'm not allowed to see her or even be here because her mom. Hence, why I'm standing outside the gate. I'm not here for you, dude."

"I'm sorry, man. I know what it feels like to not be able to see your kid-."

"You don't know shit, Punk. Never have, never will. Now if you excuse me, I wanna watch daughter play soccer in peace." Nic turned back towards the field.

"I am really sorry." Punk sincerely said, then walked back towards the entrance.

"You will be." Nic whispered to himself.

"Hey, I'm gonna go talk to Phil real quick." AJ said to Jeremy.

The soccer game had finished and now they were just waiting for Dani.

"Sure." Jeremy put on a fake smile.

AJ walked over to where Punk was standing at, something was visibly bothering him, and she was gonna see what's wrong.

"Hey. Dani's coach is giving them a victory speech. She'll be out soon." AJ told him.

"Okay. Dean and Renee left already?" Punk asked.

"Yeah, you were in the bathroom. They wanted to beat traffic." She told him. "Dani did amazing today."

"I know, right? She's just one of those kids that's just naturally good at everything. Our little star." He smiled.

"Nic was here?" AJ couldn't beat around the bush for any longer.

"Dean has a big mouth." Punk shook his head. "Yeah, he was."

"When did he get out?" She asked.

"He said a few month ago, but I had hard time believing that. I think he's been out for a while now." He replied.

"Well, why was he here?" AJ folded her arms then it clicked. "You're-."

"No, I'm not. Him being here had nothing to do with me." Punk clarified. "Trust me."

"Good." She nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just he blames me for him going to prison." He told her. "And he's right."

"No, he's wrong. It's not your fault, Phil. He took advantage of the fact you were desperate to make some money. He got you deep into that shit with the intention of ruining your entire career and life." AJ said. "Now he's mad because you had sense enough to get out and he got caught up? It is not your fault. He was a bad guy doing bad things."

"Was he? Or was he just a guy doing bad things to put meals in his family's mouth?" Punk pushed back. "Like me."

"Does that really change anything? It was still wrong, and you got out because you knew it was wrong." AJ pointed out.

"I got out because I had Tate, and you as voices of reasons. He went to prison, Ape. Years of his life, gone. While I went on to become some mega star." Punk sighed.

"I hate that you even talked to him. He constantly gaslights and manipulates you. Everything bad that goes on in his life he somehow traces back to you." AJ was getting frustrated with that fact Nic was back causing trouble. "Should I be worried?"

"No. Over my dead body, he's not getting close to you or Dani." Punk shook his head.

"I mean about you, Phil. Should I be worried about you? You haven't seen him in years, he could be dangerous. And he obviously gets to you still." AJ shook her head.

"I can be dangerous, too." Punk said playfully holding up hands in fists, and AJ rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, okay? I'll be fine."

"Dad, why do you have your fist up? Mom would kick your ass." Daniela smirked, walking up to her parents, and AJ have her a look. "Language, I know. Sorry."

"She absolutely would." Punk agreed then nudged Dani. "How are you feeling little star?"

"Eh, just another game." Daniela shrugged which caused Punk and AJ to laugh.

"Well, you were amazing." AJ pulled her into a side hug.

"And you won uncle Dean a hundred bucks." Punk told her. "He bet some random guy that you would score two goals."

"Nice. He owes me half of that." Daniela clapped her hands on excitement.

"Anyways, we better in get you home, and in a shower. AJ playfully scrunched up her nose. "Bye, Phil."

"Bye, dad. I love you, thank you for coming." Daniela gave Punk a hug.

"Love you too, Squirt. I'll see you this weekend, okay?" Punk hugged her back.

"Okay." She nodded then they broke the hug and walked away with AJ. "Mom, could we get ice cream?"

Punk sighed as he watched AJ, Dani and Jeremy walk to then get in the car. Just then, his phone started ringing. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered the call.

"Phil Brooks, hey. I looked into that Jeremy guy you told me about. What do you wanna know?" The guy on the other end of the call asked.

"Everything." Punk demanded, as he watched them drive off.