Falling Stars - Chapter 21
Avalon scanned the backstage area of the arena closely looking for any signs of Mandah or her accomplice Suzanne. Adam and Matt had called an hour before and said that the women were headed for the arena, a couple of their henchmen right behind them.
Pacing back and forth, she tried to control her breathing. She was an emotional wreck and she knew it. Things were going down tonight and on national television. It only seemed fitting that the woman would take advantage of the first ever live WCW Saturday night program.
Despite the kidnappings and bad publicity, the WCW's ratings had gone up and the powers that be had decided to add a third live show to the mix.
"Will you please stop pacing? You are making me more nervous than I already am," her boyfriend told her. They had been at the arena all day waiting for some kind of move. Shannon had tried to get a hold of Shane the night before to warn him away from Mandah, but he was nowhere to be found. That morning when they had tried to call him again, Avalon had come to the conclusion that it might be too late to warn him of his girlfriend's evil ways. And that meant one more hostage that would be worth something to the other side.
"I'm sorry Shan, but this is so nerve-wracking. I don't know how the hell I am supposed to go out there and perform knowing what is going on and knowing that somewhere in this arena those bitches are sitting with ours friends, holding them against their will. It just isn't right," Avalon told him.
"I know baby, but there isn't anything we can do. Adam and Matt are keeping their eyes peeled outside. We already know where they are keeping the others. I am sure Reese and Jeff have that part under control and you know if they get done in time they will be here to back us up. In the meantime we have Troy and Jason here and I know that you can do this. You are the strongest of the three and not to mention the cutest,"
Looking over at her boyfriend, Avalon smiled. She knew that his weak attempt at flattery was meant to get her to laugh a little. Hoping to ease her nervousness and get her pumped up for the situation she had in front of her. Avalon looked over at the other side of the arena where she saw one of the many undercover cops that were posted around the arena. After giving her a brief nod the officer turned back towards the entrance door where he was checking passes.
Reese had called the cops the night before, knowing that they would probably need the back up if anything were to go wrong. They had been instructed not to act unless absolutely necessary just in case Suzanne or Mandah had a signal set for the henchmen they had watching the hostages. In most circumstances the police wouldn't follow orders from private investigators, but Vince pleaded with them and after they had all explained the varying circumstances the captain reluctantly agreed that this was the best way.
"Avalon, we're up in two minutes. Are you ready?" One of the other Nitro Girls asked her, breaking the scattered thoughts she was having.
"Yeah, um let's go," Avalon answered as she started to smooth out her outfit. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Keep your eyes open and honey.."
"Yeah."
"I love you."
Reese sighed as she looked down at the watch on her wrist. The show was starting and they were nowhere near getting the hostages out of the warehouse they were being kept in. Part of the arrangement that she had made with the police the night before was that they would be the ones to get the hostages out. The police captain did not want to put any more innocent lives in danger than were already, even though Reese was a trained professional. Of course the injury that she sustained in the ring was a factor in her decision to agree with the captains terms.
"Man, I wish they would just hurry up so we could get everyone out of here and to safety. I need to be at that arena," Reese said, the anger evident in her voice.
"You know the cops can handle this. We could just go to the arena and let them deal with this part," Jeff suggested.
"We could, but I promised Vince I would bring everyone back to WWF New York unless they needed medical attention. He wants to know they are safe and he wants them to be reunited with their families. And that is what I promised him and that is what he is going to get. Plus how much good would I really be at the arena. My damn leg is keeping me from everything."
"Look, I think they are moving in," Jeff said pointing to the barely visible bodies moving around the outside of the warehouse. "It will be all over soon, you just wait. Everyone will be safe and back where they belong. Then maybe things will go back to normal."
'Normal, what's normal?' Reese asked herself. 'Normal is away from you and away from this new life. Do I really want things to go back to normal?'