FicWad

Brian Kendrick stood at the door of the ballroom, dark sunglasses on, looking every inch the lackey, just as he had been hired to do.

"Spanky! What's going on in there?!"

The blonde man winced, resisting the urge to yank the earpiece from his ear.

"Okay, first off Prince of Punk, STOP YELLING IN MY EAR, WOULD YA?! And just whose fucking idea was it to give me that for a codename? Second off, I do have an interesting note for you."

"But it's so much fun to see you make faces Spanky! What's the interesting note?"

"Raven brought out his songbird for the festivities."

"You are shitting me."

"I shit you not, and damn, girl is looking hot--she's got dangerous curves, if you know what I mean."

There was a scuffle on the other end of the walkie, and another, deeper voice took over, with a thicker southern accent.

"Stop staring at her ass, and check out her back--are there any scars?"

"I can't see it, her hair is down."

"Is she dancing with anyone?"

"She's huddled under the stairs with the guy the target passed her off to."

"...He's trusting someone else to guard her?"

"Apparently--oh oh, here they come!"

"Her hair, if it swings back at all, see if she has scars--if she does, it's really the pet."

"How do you know if she has--"

"I USED TO BE A PART OF HIS FLOCK, YOU IDIOT!"

"Geez Matt, you don't have to screa--"

"YOU MORON, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE THE NAME! One more stunt like this and I'm yanking you out of undercover and putting the Hurricane in your place."

"Yeah, and he'd wear that dorky costume again. Velvet, Love, Koala Bear and Mistletoe all stand out too much, and the so-called Prince of Punk couldn't blend in if he tried--face it boss man, I'm the best you've got."

"...Just shut the fuck up and observe, or else."

"She has the scars."

"Nightingale in public? With only one guard, and she's not following Raven? He must think he's untouchable."

"Guess we'll just have to prove otherwise, won't we?"

Whilst Matt Hardy argued with his undercover lackey, two more spies cruised the dancefloor.

"...Do you recognize any of these women?"

The brunette man dipped his dance partner as he murmured his question, his speech marred by a slight lisp.

"No. They all look...foreign, and not in just the overseas way. They look extremely out of place--well, the whole damned Flock aside from the two redheads and the guy dancing with the girl in the green dress look out of place if you want my opinion. Anyway, none of the other women speak English very well."

She was pulled back up to her feet, and yanked close to her partner. He smirked, leaning over to compliment her on her choice of outfit.

"Red is definitely your color Rebecca. I agree with you on the foreign feeling, and if you've noticed, almost all of the guests are men. Very wealthy men."

"You think it's sex trafficking?"

"I'd bet my life and my badge on it."

"That's good enough for me, but is it good enough for Orton?"

"It should be...the question is, how do we prove it?"

"That's easy, Rhodes, we go undercover."

A smile melted onto Becky's face as she heard the voice of their boss, Randy Orton, through their earpieces.

"And how are we going to accomplish that, boss?"

"Did it ever occur to you that we aren't the only ones looking to shut Raven down? Who else would stand to gain something from his fall from grace?"

"Matt Hardy. The Core group has been trying to usurp Raven for two years or more." Becky replied.

"If we dangle the prospect of taking over control of Philly in front of Matt Hardy, he'd give us anything we wanted." Cody agreed.

"Then let's see how quickly you two can make it happen."

-

Weeks passed. Raven went abroad four more times, each time bringing back multiple women, and each time, he rented out the ballroom of an expensive hotel, throwing lavish parties to promote his business.

Tripp and Gypsy were barely on speaking terms. Their emotional relationship was at a standstill, and the physical one was nonexistent. So strained were they that Tripp had began bunking with Sick Boy and Riggs, unwilling to even meet Gypsy's gaze, let alone be in her presence unless he was forced to be. Gypsy continued to transform her looks and her attitude, refusing to stray from Raven's side while he was at the warehouse unless he ordered her to.

And while Raven was away, Nightingale and Punk grew closer with each passing day--to the point that they had nearly been caught several times in a rather passionate clinch by varying members of the Flock, or what remained of it.

Daffney, Laree, Lita and Inferno had deserted. Once the new business venture began to take off, their own business had all but halted--and Raven insisted on taking all of their profits. As soon as he'd left for the Virgin Islands, they'd left, deciding to cut their losses and give life on the right side of the law another chance.

Present day found both Punk outside the warehouse, talking on the payphone.

"We want you to come home for a couple of weeks--it's been nearly a year since we last saw you."

"Mom, I--"

"Phillip, your sisters miss you, and your father and I are out of our minds with worry."

"Mom, there's nothing I would love more, but I can't afford it. I'm still out of a job."

"We're paying for the ticket. All you have to do is show up at the airport in Philly and pick it up."

The tattooed brunette chewed on his lip ring in thought. On one hand, he'd love to be back in Chicago; he ate, slept and breathed the city--and he missed it like crazy whenever he was away. On the other hand, Nightingale would be left alone with Raven.

But if I go, maybe I can make living arrangements for the two of us. Then I could really get her out of here.

"Phillip? Honey are you still there?"

"Yeah, Mom. Alright. You make sure the ticket is there waiting for me, and I'll use it."

"It will be waiting for you there day after tomorrow--my baby is coming home! Oh, I can't wait to see you!"

"I can't wait to see you either. Give Josie and Rhett my love."

"Of course I will!"

"I've got to go, I don't have anymore change--but I'll see you Friday."

Before he could get another word out, the line went dead. He hung up the reciever, and meandered into the warehouse, trudging upstairs to let Raven know he'd be leaving.

It's just two weeks...surely she'll be alright for two weeks...

-

"Gypsy, come over here and sit with me."

Raven patted the empty space next to him on the bed, and Gypsy appeared, obeying instantly.

"You know you're an invaluable part of the Flock, don't you? That none of the success we've garnered lately would have been possible without your help?"

"Of course I do."

Gypsy: 1. Caged Pigeon: ZERO!

"Good, I'm glad. And you'd do anything to keep it that way, wouldn't you?"

"Absolutely!"

Raven smirked inwardly at his sycophant's enthusiasm.

This is going to be much easier than I anticipated.

"Then you won't have a problem fulfilling the task that I'm about to ask of you."

"No, not at all."

"You know why I went abroad. You know what the girls do, and how much of a profit they bring in. My clients have been observing you at the parties...Gypsy, they want you."

Gypsy's smile faded a bit.

"They want me how, exactly?"

"They're willing to pay double, triple if that's what it takes, to have a night with you. I agreed to their terms."

"Whoa, wait just one fucking second here--you want ME to become one of your high class WHORES?! No. No way."

Well, since she won't do this the easy way, I guess I'll have to resort to force.

Within seconds, Raven had yanked Gypsy to her feet, and roughly slammed her shoulders against the wall.

"I don't think you understood me, Gypsy. I said they'd offered triple, and that I'd accepted. I'm not asking if you want to be a part of the business, I'm telling you that you will. Are we clear?"

Raven was used to dealing with Nightingale, who cringed away from his touch, and feared his punishments. He wasn't expecting what happened next.

A scream of pain echoed throughout the warehouse as Gypsy's knee ground into Raven's crotch. She shoved him away, and landed a kick in his face as he doubled over.

"And I'm telling you that I am nobody's whore. I'm done with this bullshit. You want a whore? Then turn out your pet! Half the damned Flock wants to nail her, let HER earn you triple, you sick fuck!"

She didn't wait for a response. Gypsy died on the floor next to where Raven lay, curled in the fetal position. Cara resurfaced for the first time in months, storming out of the warehouse without any hesitation, and she didn't look back.