016

Sweaty and exhausted, Kaitlynn Stryfe reclined against the plush leather seat, letting the air conditioning wash over her as the limousine sped away from The Bradley Center. The sweat turned to ice as she pushed her hair out of her face. The grin on her lips wouldn't quit, even though she was filled with conflicting emotions. Closing her eyes, she sighed, the sound quickly becoming a giggle that bordered on the sort of breathless hysteria that usually signaled an epic meltdown.

"I won," she whispered to herself, as though she was oblivious to the man seated near her. Her voice was filled with incredulity, as though she was still in shock— in some small way she was. Just his proximity had her reeling, and his actions at the end of the match had left her with thousands of questions instead of any answers. She'd thought that she'd take one look into his eyes and know what was on his mind, but he was as guarded as always.

"I suppose I owe you thanks," she whispered, finally addressing him. Whatever else she might have said died on her lips as her golden eyes locked onto his brown ones. "Alex... I..." she licked her lips, faltering.

The crisp air circulating through the car was no match for the stare coming from Alexander Stryfe's eyes as he looked to his wife, a matching expression written on his face. "Don't thank me, Kaitlynn. What happened was as a result of information I discovered, thanks to a private detective. We're taking you to a private hospital." He reached forward and removed a brown plain envelope from a small table set before them. Pulling the tie off, he handed it to her. Inside lay pictures. Dozens of pictures of Jennifer Stryfe seen in public with Anthony Gambini. Pictures of one leaving the other's hotel room in the evening hours. Having dinner together. "It's all been a damn setup. Right from the moment she arrived, Kaitlynn. We've been played for fools." He hissed the last part, not surprising as Alex took great care in protecting his image.

"Of course we have," she snapped, feeling that annoyance come creeping back as she stared at the images of Gambini and Jennifer. "I knew... I suspected there was something going on that was more than just some bullshit concern for your well being." She sighed, shaking her head, "I met with Jacob in Toronto. He told me what you suspected." A little flicker of unease passed through her features before she managed to get her emotions in check.

"Jacob...." He didn't follow that, his face once again hard to read though it didn't sound as though he were best pleased with his baby brother. "There was no concern for my happiness. There was no worry over what and whom had gotten involved in my life. It was all to get back at you. Every single bit. Gambini and Jennifer concocted this entire charade,and like lemmings...we fell for it. I....fell for it." The last few words were the only sign of true anger he had shown in the entire discussion thus far. It was obvious that his pride had taken as much of a beating as she had before leaving the arena. "And now that the truth is out and will likely become public knowledge? There's going to be repercussions."

"Repercussions?" She echoed the word, swallowing hard as she wondered what sort of vengeance he was planning. Not only that, but she couldn't help but wonder just where she fit into that equation. "I can't help but think that none of this would have happened if I hadn't come back." Her words sounded hollow as she tried to hide what she was feeling. It was easy enough when she didn't look at him. There were so many things running through her head, she didn't know which one to voice, and which to ignore.

"I have no doubt he would have come for you whether you were in FFW or not." He stared out the window as the limousine made its way onto the interstate, cold brown eyes looking out onto a world outside that couldn't see him. And not that he'd want them to. "He has lost SVW, because of me. He lost everything he ever wanted because of yourself and me. This is nothing more than a suicide run for him. Gambini's last attempt to make you and I suffer. And he has played his part of the game well. I'll give him that. I'll handle him once and for all." His eyes shot back to his wife. "And you will end Jennifer. Once and for all. Her aspirations. Her career. Her livelihood. It's time for the endgame. I'm tired of dealing with Gambini. I want finality."

"I want her dead," Kitty hissed, sounding much like her namesake as she looked down at those pictures. "I want her to regret the day she got in bed with that snake. I want her to suffer for planting that seed in my head... for making me doubt your fidelity and your intentions in this sick little game of chess they were playing." The anger was back, turning her eyes to a cold, hard green as she swept the photographs from the table as though she was sick of looking at them.

Her husband fished out his cell phone, glancing down to his watch. "The show is still going on." He observed for a moment before sorting through contacts to find her number. A few taps of the screen later, he put the phone to his ear. "Samantha, it's Alexander. I have a request to make of you. Call it a favor." He was silent briefly before speaking again. "I would like to request one last match between Kaitlynn and Jennifer. I want this ended once and for all." More silence as he nodded his head, a small smile forming on his face at whatever she was saying. "Now that is inspired thinking, Samantha. Conviction in Denver, Hardcore War?" The smile almost grew exponentially for a brief second as he nodded his head. "Thank you, Samantha. I owe you one, I always repay my debts." He tapped the screen to end the call, looking back at his wife. "You heard that? The final round comes in Denver. You take care of her, and I'll handle Anthony Gambini."

Her smile was cold, that self-possessed smirk that she'd perfected while married to him. "Denver won't know what hit it, darling." The pet name slipped out, and the silence that followed bordered on awkward.

An inexorable silence filled the limousine as he cast his eyes back out the window just before returning them to her. "You questioned my fidelity to you? Somewhere a poet is rolling over in their grave at the irony of that." He pulled the pictures he had shown her back into his lap, eyes scanning them again as they had likely done a thousand times by now. "If you were worried, Kaitlynn, your fears were misplaced. Though the opportunity did present itself, I was never intimate with Jennifer." Glancing down to his wedding band, he shook his head. "Though given the circumstances, no one would have blamed me if I had. I, however, am not a man given to temptation. Jennifer and I tried our relationship several times, and it did not work. I don't make the same mistakes twice."

She drew in a breath, feeling that familiar sadness come creeping in even as she tried to remain impassive. It was hard because of the last words he'd just uttered— they cut her right to the bone. Her eyes strayed to the ring on his finger, almost fixated on it. "I wouldn't be angry with you if you had," she forced the words out, finding the silence unbearable now. "You could have hurt me the same way I hurt you. You can hurt me in whatever way you wish, Alex. I won't fight you. I deserve everything that I've got coming to me."

Alex didn't respond immediately, just shaking his head. "As far as I am concerned, I have no desire to punish you. Living with what you have done is far more painful than anything I could inflict. Besides I couldn't bring myself to...." He trailed off, failing to finish the last part of the sentence for her. "But if you want to make me happy, if you want all of this to work again, you will destroy her. Worse than any opponent in your past. I want Jenny in a state that guarantees you nor I ever have to see her again. If you can do this, it will go a long way towards reconciling what has already happened."

She nodded, feeling the prickle of tears that forced her to close her eyes. There was no room for failure— she could read that clear enough in the tone of his voice. "You might not have any desire to punish me, but I do. You have no idea how much I hate myself right now." There was no loathing in those words, it was simply a recitation of a fact that she'd already come to terms with. "You say if I can do this..." she drew in a steadying breath, "which implies doubt. Have you lost faith in my ability, Alex? Or are you simply putting it that way so I feel compelled to ask you what happens if I fail?"

He began shaking his head back and forth before he spoke. "There will be no failure in this, Kaitlynn. I don't care who has their hand raised, I want her destroyed. You will do this; you end this game at Conviction. Because there is no other way for it to end. Only divine intervention could save her now, and God himself wants no dealings with the devil's work."

His eyes went back down to the pictures, tapping one of Gambini with his index finger. "I'll make you a deal. You end Jennifer in Denver." His eyes seemed to almost bore a hole into the face of Gambini in the picture.

"And I'll make sure Anthony Gambini doesn't leave Denver alive."