Chapter Twenty Two

Batista sat backstage looking down at his hands. Instead of power and gentleness he saw the blood of a life taken too soon. He couldn't seem to find any peace these days. No matter how hard he searched for it all he saw was the death and destruction that he had caused. "Hey Killer, plotting your next victim?" Hunter joked and slapped him on the shoulder. Quickly Batista curled his hands and folded his arms across his chest hiding his hands from view. His head remained bent downward though and his mind wracked with guilt was encased in memories becoming more and more distorted as the days went by.

Across the room Randy sat with Ric. The older man was droning on and on about some invisible threat that he should be worrying about, but in Randy's growing opinion the only threat was in the room not outside it. Hunter and Ric tended to forget that he was third generation. They treated him as if he had no sense for the business. When they had invited him into Evolution he had immediately accepted because for one thing working with the two of them would not only do great things for his career, but they would also teach him a lot. However the other reason he had agreed to join was sitting across the room growing more and more brainfucked by the day.

Ric told him not to trust Batista, said that he was dangerous and a threat, but they forget that he knew him before they did. He knows not only the monster Batista, but the gentle man behind it, Dave. He knew that his friend would never intentionally harm anyone without good reason and then often wouldn't even if he HAD good reason.

When he'd gotten called up his daddy had showed up one day to go hunting unexpectedly. As they'd wandered through the woods with their guns pretending that they were looking for things to shoot, his daddy had started giving him bits of advice for his new career. The first thing he'd told him was to trust himself first, his friends second and everyone else last. He'd told him not to let the enemy tell him who he could trust and who he couldn't, but by the same token do not let friendship blind him to the truth. He'd told him not to buy into disguises and characters, but on the other hand don't dismiss them either. He said that he would meet people that were very much unlike their characters and he would meet people who were their characters way before they even knew what a character was. The only way he would know the difference is with time and a trust in himself. Lastly he'd told him never to let his enemies know how much he knew. Never let them know how smart he was. That meant that until he knew who were friends and who was foe he would be better off not letting anyone know what he knew. Watching the interaction between Hunter and Batista he knew one thing… Hunter was a dark-hearted evil bastard, and Dave Batista was a victim.

Randy stood and headed for the door when he heard Hunter call his name. Turning casually he arched an eyebrow looking at the man he was slowly growing to despise. "Where are you going?" Hunter asked and Randy shrugged casually. "For a walk. Nowhere special." Hunter frowned eyeing him then looked at Ric. "Go with him." Ric stood immediately, but paused when Randy shook his head. "No." Hunter arched an eyebrow and walked forward frowning. "I SAID RIC go with Randy." Ric took a step forward, but again Randy shook his head setting his jaw. "I said no. I'm not a child or helpless. I don't need an escort. If you insist on someone going with me though I'll take Batista."

Hunter narrowed his eyes and stepped forward again coming within inches of the much younger man. Looking in his eyes he expected to see intimidation there and fear growing, but instead all he saw was calmness and a steely resistance that he did not like. "No," Hunter replied growling. "I said RIC NOT Batista. The Killer has to get his head together." Randy narrowed his eyes and slowly let his lips curl into a smirk. "Dave I need you to come with me, please."

Still lost in his thoughts, Dave heard Randy call his name and shaking his head looked up to see Hunter and Randy standing nose to nose. Immediately he stood and quickly moved to Randy's side frowning fiercely wondering what he had missed. He watched Hunter's face grow red and his body began to shake as Randy smirked coldly. "Lesson #1 Hunter. You don't have as much control as you think you do. Come on Dave we're going for a walk."

Dave nodded slightly and waited for Randy to turn and leave before following behind him. After they left Hunter's face went from red to purple until finally he exploded throwing things around and screaming obscenities. Ric quickly hid in a corner with his hands over his head waiting for hurricane Hunter to pass. Outside the door Randy bounced giggling as Dave frowned at him. "What did I miss?" Turning his gaze to his friend Randy sighed and shook his head and looked around. "Lesson #2 Dave. Don't underestimate me. Damn we have to get you away from Hunter." Randy then turned around and walked down the hall not sure who he was hunting for, but knew he'd know when he found them. Dave followed along still confused wondering why Randy was trying to save HIM from Hunter when it was Randy that needed the saving.

Read chapter Twenty Three of ?? of Monster in the Shadows