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The man ranted and raved, two of the others trying to calm him and find out what happened, while the fourth seemed a small bit humbled and uncertain.
"What the *hell* is wrong with you, man?!" Triple H bellowed for what had to be the fiftieth time since they'd left the hotel bar. His face was a bright shade of tomato red as he focused his rage on Randy Orton, the young man slightly intimidated - not a feeling he was used to.
"Hunter, will you calm down?" Ric Flair said calmly, the Nature Boy positioning himself between the two. "I'm sure Randy to mean to upset you."
"I don't give a damn *what* he meant, Naitch," the burly Evolution member spat. "He got in my business!" Triple H pointed an angry finger at Orton, getting in the Intercontinental champion's face. "You ungrateful little punk!"
This time, Dave Batista stepped in. Placing a restraining hand on The Game's shoulder, he spoke.
"C'mon, Hunter... I think he gets the point..."
"While we're on the subject," Flair interjected, "what exactly did he do?"
I got him to stop manhandling one of the divas," Randy said, answering for himself. "Dawn Marie... Hunter put his hands on her and she didn't want to go off with him. I didn't think it was right to treat a woman like that, so I intervened."
"More like stuck your nose where it didn't belong!" A huge, meaty hand made a grab for him, but Orton ducked away from it.
"Enough is enough, guys!" Ric exclaimed. "We have more important things to worry about."
"Yeah... yeah, you're right, Naitch," Helmsley agree in a level tone. He shifted his gaze back to Randy, his eyes narrowing. "But I'll tell you what... This is strike one against you, kid... Two more," he said, displaying two fingers for the young man to see, "and you're *out*..."
Orton swallowed hard. He hated to acknowledge that Triple H's wrath intimidated him, but it *did*. He wondered what The Game meant by 'and you're *out*.' He guessed it meant he'd be out of Evolution.
"All right, guys... Now that that's over and done with, let's get out of here..."
*
As the four divas made their way out of the hotel bar, Victoria frowned as she noted the silence of one of her friends. Dawn Marie hadn't spoken so much as three words since the altercation with Triple H. And that was not normal for the brunette, who was normally such a cheerful chatterbox.
"Hey," the raven-haired diva said, nudging the shorter woman. Meanwhile, Trish and Lita were walking just ahead of them, the two best friends talking up a storm amongst themselves. "Are you okay, Dawn?"
"Yeah... yeah, I am," came the reply, the brunette nodding. Her dark eyes took on a slightly faraway expression, and Victoria arched an eyebrow in surprise as her friend suddenly wore the tiniest trace of a smile. "I was just thinking..."
"About...?"
Dawn Marie turned her head to face Victoria for a beat, examining her friend's expression. Then, turning away, she shook her head almost violently. "No... no, you'll think I'm crazy."
"No, I won't!" the dark-haired woman protested. "Dawn, you know me... you can tell me anything."
"Hey, what's going on back there?" Trish asked, glancing over her shoulder at the other two divas. Lita as well glanced back at them, and the four women were just approaching the hotel room the little blonde and the redhead were sharing.
"Oh, not much," Dawn Marie replied. "I was just about to tell Vicki what was on my mind..."
"Huh?"
"She looked so pensive, but then started smiling," Victoria explained. "Something's going on in that head of hers. What is it?"
This time, a full grin came to the brunette's lips. She shook her head and elaborated.
"Not a 'what,' a 'who...'"
"Oh?" Lita asked, arching a brow in surprise. "Well, *who* is this 'who?'"
"Randy Orton..."