______________________________________________________
Victoria ran to safety to the outside, her eyes wide as she watched the scene in the ring. Wildly, she shot her head in the direction of the small blonde ring announcer, Lilian Garcia. Making her way toward the woman, she gestured for the microphone.
She tried not to panic as she brought the instrument up to her lips to speak. There was going to be trouble if she and Chris didn't make themselves scarce in a hurry.
"Jericho, stop!" she shouted. "We've got to get out of here before reinforcements come!"
At her last words, the blond man stopped beating Austin, his eyes meeting hers. From the look on his face, it seemed he suddenly realized she was right - after all, if anyone would know how the Alliance would operate, it was her. He abandoned the ring, racing toward her and gesturing for her to run.
The pair started up the ramp but stopped as the troops indeed began, one-by-one, to emerge from the back. Y2J sprang into his idea and yelled, "C'mon!" He grabbed the dark-haired diva's wrist and ran, steering her past the ring. Stone Cold staggered as he tried to get back up to his feet and gave them a murderous look. They ignored him, and Chris led the way, heading directly for the barrier separating the audience from the ringside area. He turned to help Victoria get over, but she didn't need any assistance as she leapt over it in a hurry. The two clasped hands once on the crowd side and took off in a brisk run.
Damn it! the raven-haired woman thought. She was supposed to meet back up with Kurt, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. The Olympian was going to have to wait. By the looks of it, they were either going to have to hide somewhere or hotwire a car and hightail it the hell out of there. Naturally, neither she nor Jericho had their cell phones, money or any belongings on them at the moment.
Once outside the arena, Victoria's breathing was slightly ragged. They paused to catch their breath, hiding out behind a huge truck.
"Now what?" she asked breathlessly. "We can't... hide here forever... Surely they... they'll find us."
Jericho looked into her eyes in the darkness, his breath still coming in fast. He turned back toward the exit through which they'd come and noticed the double doors swinging open.
"Come on!" he said in a loud whisper. "I have an idea."
With their hands still clasped, he led her in a crouch, past the truck and through the lot. Swiftly, they headed back the way they'd come at a slightly different route. It seemed the Alliance members had been stupid enough to have all of their enforcements go after them at once, so by Y2J's estimations, no one would still be inside the arena...
... Unless Stone Cold Steve Austin hadn't followed them out. It was a chance they had to take.
Back inside, Jericho and Victoria ran through and past crowds of fans. They seemed to read one another's mind as they sprinted to the backstage part of the arena. Kurt... They had to go to Kurt. But then, a thought came to the diva, and she hesitated for a beat as she voiced it.
"Wait a minute!" she said as they stopped in a remote corridor. "Wouldn't he be with them if all of the Alliance went after us?" She cocked her head. "You know, to save face?"
Chris' brow arched. Damn it, she had a point. If Angle wasn't with the rest of them, it would look strange, and they would get suspicious.
"Yeah," he said. "You're right. Then maybe we should just get out of here altogether."
"No!" Victoria said in a loud whisper. "I think we should hide out in Kurt's locker room... wait for him. He would expect me, anyway."
"Okay." The blond man nodded at her, and they were off.
Sure enough, the Olympic Gold Medalist was nowhere to be found, and Victoria was actually glad. The last thing they needed now was for Kurt's cover to be blown.
They hid behind the plush couch, crouching in wait. The imposter Alliance diva's eyes caught the silver glint of her friend's cell phone, which lay on the nearby coffee table. If only she could know for sure that one of their new allies' numbers were in the memory...
"I know Lita's number by heart," Y2J whispered, reading her mind.
She whipped her head back to him, and he nodded. He'd noticed her staring at the cell phone.
"You can let her know what's up," he said. "She'll tell Edge, and they can help us."
Victoria slid out from their hiding place and quickly grabbed the device. She handed it to Chris, who hastily dialed the redheaded diva's number. All the while, she prayed the door wouldn't just suddenly open.
Jericho was just finishing up when the door suddenly opened - slowly. As silently as he could manage, he flipped the cell phone to a close, his eyes meeting Victoria's. Voices suddenly filled the room.
Austin had joined Angle in his locker room, and as expected, he didn't sound happy.