Title: Distance
Author: Empress
Email: Empress@thewaysideinn.net
Distribution: Empress' Private Library and The Wayside Inn  All others ask first. All others ask first.
Rating: R for language…the cursing takes on a new level of achievement in this one, folks!
Category: Number 6 in the Behind the Scenes series.  Sequel to #5 Seeds of Suspicion. 
Characters: Hunter/Nan; Edge/Karen; Red Elliot; Evolution; a brief mention of Dixie the Wonder Wiener Dog; and a mystery guest.
Spoilers:  RAW 07/05/04
Warnings:  None to my knowledge - other than language of course.
Author's Notes #1:  The lyrics quoted at the beginning are from WWE: The Anthology - Shawn Michaels Farewell Tribute.  But it fit this story perfectly.  Hate it for ya if you've got a problem with that.
Author’s Notes #2: Unlike the others, you will have had to read at least #5 "Seeds of Suspicion" in order to understand this one.  There's more angst and drama in this one that I was expecting.  Remember when I said that Hunter's not necessarily the evil bastard everyone says he is?  Well, in this one, he even surpassed my expectations of the depths to which he could sink.  Bad Hunter.  Bad.
Feedback: Always.
Summary:  Where do you go when your world burns down around you?  Yeah, that's what I thought.  Nan doesn't know either.
Disclaimer: Not mine - theirs.  Some are mine and I'm keeping those.  No money made.  If you sue me, you can have my 15-year-old car.  On the condition that you take my front porch with you because I'm sick and damn tired of killing myself on the missing hand-railing and the broken second step!!

~<>~ 

July 2, 2004  4:19 a.m.
I-95 South - Baltimore, Maryland 

Crossing the Maryland state line brought home a sense of finality she hadn't expected.  Up until then, she could pretend that it hadn't happened.  That her whole life hadn't just come crashing down around her feet.  That he hadn't needed some "space."  That he hadn't called her a whore.  And that his last words to her hadn't been to tell her that he wasn't sure if he wanted her to be there when he came back from Canada.

But he had, and she'd spent the last five hours driving South.  No particular goal in mind.  Just South.  Hunter had headed North to Canada for the weekend of house shows and the Monday Night RAW in Winnipeg.  So, logically, South was her first choice.  And after five hours of driving, no sleep - other than that long nap they'd taken earlier on Thursday - and the mental anguish of their fight, she was about to collapse.  As dying behind the wheel wasn't on her high list of priorities, she began looking for the next exit that advertised a hotel.  Any hotel.  She really didn't think she'd sleep, but she needed to lie down for a little while, and figure out where she was going.

After another thirty minutes or so, she spotted a Holiday Inn Express sign, and immediately took the exit ramp towards a few minutes of peace and quiet.  She made quick work of checking in, explaining she may not stay the entire day, or she might stay for a week or more.  She wasn't sure yet.  The desk clerk took one look at her pale face, and huge eyes, and gave her a sympathetic smile that nearly caused her to break down.  With leaden footsteps, she rolled her overnight bag down the hall and into her room, hanging the "Do Not Clean" sign on the doorknob first.

It was fairly normal for a hotel room.  Complete with two double beds, a mini fridge, and that unmistakable hotel room smell.  Hoisting her bag up onto the bed closest to the window, she leaned over and drew the curtains covering the window.  Thinking she'd try to sleep even if it were a futile effort, she kicked off her shoes and sat down beside the suitcase, automatically reaching for her cell phone.

But she'd forgotten.  For one brief moment, she'd forgotten.  She didn't have anyone to call to let them know she'd arrived safely. 

"Arrived where,"  she murmured quietly, her own voice sounding odd in her ears.  It wasn't like Baltimore had been her intended destination.  It was just where she'd stopped.  She couldn't call anyone, because no one knew she'd left. 

Except Karen.

And Hunter.

Hunter knew.  Or, she thought he'd assumed that she had.  Granted, he'd not exactly told her to get out.  But she wasn't stupid.  She knew what he meant when he'd said he'd needed "space."  He'd said the same thing to Chyna before they'd called it quits.  And the same thing he'd told Steph before she pulled that fake pregnancy on him.  "Needing space," in Hunter-speak, meant Game Over.

Looking down at her watch, she realized that even if she wanted to call anyone,  or had anyone to call, she couldn't.  It wasn't quite five o'clock in the morning.  And she didn't know anyone who was ever up that  early.  Still, she grabbed her cell, and pulled it off her belt, intending to set it down on the nightstand, when the blinking light signaled her that she had messages.

Flipping it open, she punched in her code and waited for the prompt to play them back.  There were only two new ones.  The first one was from before she had left.  Her sister wanting the recipe for some kind of desert she couldn't even remember the name for.  The second was from Karen about an hour after she'd dropped off Dixie.

"Hey, girl.  Uhm…you ran out of here so fast, I didn't have time to get the number of where you were gonna be staying.  Don't worry about Dixie, you know Edge and I will take good care of her for as long as you need us to.  Hope everything works out with your friend's operation.  Audrey, wasn't it?  Anyway, I just wanted you not to worry about your baby while you and Hunt are away.  Be sure and let me know how everything goes, 'kay?  Edge sends his love.  Give Hunt a squeeze for me and you take care.  Bye."

Nan thumbed the number pad, erasing the message, turned the cell phone off, and fell backwards on the bed with a huge sigh.  She'd hated lying to her friends.  But she had to tell them something that would explain her anxiety, and freaked out actions.  Besides, Edge knew her too well for her to try and fake complacency, or worse yet, happiness.  He'd believe a sick friend needed her help.  If he'd had any clue that Hunter had all but asked her to move out, her blonde friend would have exploded.  And she'd never have gotten out of there.

She threw one arm over her eyes, wishing desperately that she could just stop thinking for a minute.  No thought.  No sound.  No sight.  Nothing.  What a wonderfully unattainable idea.  But she just couldn't get that damn fight out of her head. 

~<>~ 

July 1, 2004  9:45 p.m.
Hunter & Nan's house 

Unexpectedly, a four pictures plopped down over her shoulder, nearly startling Nan out of her skin.  Hunter's voice, raw and dripping with rage growled loudly behind her, "Looking for these?"

With her heart slamming hard enough against her ribs to make her worry about them cracking, Nan reached for the photos with trembling fingers.  The date stamp in the corner stood out in a bright evil, red glow - 02 04 02.  Lifting the pictures off the pile, she looked at them, as he had ordered.  Her worst nightmares had finally been brought to life.

They were of her, laid face down over a table in what looked like a night club, her too short skirt hiked high up over her waist.  That didn't change through any of the four shots.  What did change was the person - or more accurately - people with her.  The first shot was of her like that by herself.  But in the next, it was Al Snow, standing off to the side, with one hand cradling the back of her head.  In another, Edge had joined Al, and in this photo, Edge had a handful of her skirt.  But the last shot was the worst.  In that one, Shawn had joined them both and was behind her, curled over her back with both hands underneath her.  There was no denying the blatant sexuality of the poses.

"But they told me nothing happened," she whispered.

"Holy fuck,"  Hunter groaned, staggering backward to fall into another chair in the office.  "You're going to tell me that you…that they…."

She turned a too white face on him.  "They told me nothing happened," she repeated again.

Hunter exploded out of his chair, his face a mask of rage, screaming at her.  "Bullshit!  Bullshit nothing happened!  Look at those, Nan!  Fucking look!  That's you with your ass bared to the world, taking on three different guys!  Two guys I thought were my friends!  And one…Jesus!  One that I know for a fact  has taken on three women by himself before.  So don't let that holier than thou persona of his fool you for one damn minute!"

"Shawn would never…."

"Don't!"  He whirled around and pointed a finger in her face.  "Don't you tell me for one goddamn minute what that man would or would not do!  Don't you ever defend him to me!  Not in this situation!"

"Where…" she swallowed hard.  "Where did you get these?"

He dropped his hand, then instead lifted it again, running it through his hair.  "They were in your book.  That brown envelope.  I found the first one at your parent's house."

Her white face flushed red in two tiny blotches in the center of her cheeks.  "So you went looking to see if there were more, before asking me about them?"

"Don't you turn this back on me!"  Hunter roared at her.  "And what do you mean by if there were more?  Do you mean to tell me that you're gonna deny these?!  Damn woman!  I knew you had balls of pure steel when it suited you but I didn't for one minute think they were that big!"

"Deny what?"  She fired back at him.  "That this is me?  That this isn't Al, Edge, or Shawn?  Don't be an idiot!"

"You know damn well what I mean!  Are you denying fucking them!?  All three of them?!"

"Categorically!"  Nan shouted.  "I've never had sex with any of them!"

"Sure.  Right.  Maybe not before then.  But did you do those three that night?!"

She hesitated a moment.  "I…I don't…remember."

Hunter smirked an ugly smile at her.  "I thought as much.  So you're claiming innocence due to the inability to remember what happened that night.  Am I right?"

"I remember some of what happened that night, Hunter.  Just…."

"Just what?"

"Just nothing after getting to the club," she clarified.  "And like I said before, they told me nothing happened!  And I believe them!"

"Yeah.  Right.  You believe them.  This from a woman who admittedly drank so much that she doesn't remember being fucked by three guys over a goddamn table while someone else took pictures of it!  I don't think your creditability is all that high right now!"  He stormed out of the office and down the hall.

She caught up with him in the living room, grabbing his arm and swinging herself around in front of him, since he was immovable.  "Just who in the blue hell do you think you are, anyway?!  You don't want to start tallying up sins with me, buddy boy, because sure as hell, you'll lose!"

"My sins, as you so quaintly put it, aren't the issue here!  Motherfuck, woman!  I knew about Jericho because you were with him when I first met you!"

"Three days after," she said absently.

"Whatever!  And everybody knew when you started dating Kane, because we all thought you'd lost your fucking mind!  But I had no idea you were balling the whole locker-room!"

"Oh, you're one to talk!"  She cried, hurt deeply enough that she now wanted to wound back.  "You've had enough ring-rats between your legs to start an I Sucked Triple H's Dick Club!  It's a wonder you've not caught something!"

"That may be true," he agreed, surprising her.  "But at least every single woman I've ever been with knew that up front about me!  Not once did I make those gals think they were anything more to me than what they were.  And you, and Chyna, and Steph, all knew about them before we got together." 

He leaned down, growling in her face, fury lighting up his eyes with a glow like hell-fire.  "And not once, not once, did I ever fuck…their…friends…then claim it didn't happen because I was too damn drunk to remember it!"

"Damn you!"  Nan seethed.  "Damn you, Hunter!  There was a reason I had so much to drink that night!  Granted it wasn't the best of reasons, but I had one!  Don't you remember at all?!"

"No!  And believe me I've tried to!  But after finding those pictures, I'm glad I don't remember that night.  So, I don't give a damn what your reason is!  Two weeks, Nan!  Those fucking pictures were taken just two weeks before you and I went out the first time!"

"Exactly!"  she yelled.  "The operative word here is before.  So regardless of whether or not it happened - and it didn't  - why are you so livid over something that took place - and I'm meaning the pictures mind you - before you had any claim on me whatsoever?!"

"Because had I known you were a whore, I'd never have given you the time of day when Kane dumped you!"

Silence echoed in the house, and Nan reeled back away from him as if he'd struck her.  Her mouth dropped open.  "I can't believe you said that."

"And I can't believe I didn't see it in you before now." 

They just stared at each other for a moment.  Then somewhere outside a horn honked. 

Hunter turned away from her and extended the handle on the rolling suitcase she'd not noticed sitting beside the couch.  He picked up his gym bag and slung it over his shoulder, and walked to the door without a backward glance.  Jerking it open, he paused in the open doorway, but still wouldn't look at her.

"I'm going to Canada early, and I don't want you joining me on Saturday as we planned.  I think we need a little space."  He started to move forward, but her low whisper stopped him.

"Do you want me to be here when you get back?"

"I…I, uh…I'm not sure.  I'll call you and let you know."

This time she didn't stop him when he went to walk out of the house. 

~<>~ 

July 2, 2004  12:48 p.m.
Holiday Inn Express - Baltimore, Maryland 

A knock on the door jerked her awake.  Nan sat up with a start, her heart pounding, still hearing Hunter's words in her ears.  She looked around frantically, not being able to place where she was, when the knock came again.

"Who is it?!  Who's there?!"  Her voice sounded panicked even to her.

"Housekeeping, ma'am.  I wouldn't have disturbed you, but there's a "Do Not Clean" sign on the floor and I didn't know if it was yours," the woman's voice was muffled but audible through the thick door.

"It's mine."  Nan croaked, now beginning to shake as the adrenaline bleed out through her system.  She wasn't really surprised.  Anxiety.  Stress.  Fucked up sleep.  And no food in - she looked at the clock - almost exactly twenty-four hours would tend to give a person the shakes.

"I'm sorry, ma'am.  I won't disturb you again."

Nan listened as the housekeeping cart rolled down the hall, and she fought back the hysterical laughter bubbling up in her chest.  "I'm already disturbed, lady."

She pressed a hand against the small of her back, rubbing at the dull ache that had settled in back there from falling asleep in the same position that she'd laid down in earlier that day.  Out of habit, she looked at her cell phone, which was still curled in her hand.  Turning it on, it didn't surprise her at all that the message light was blinking again.  Pressing the appropriate buttons, she listened to her own voice, laughingly asking those people who called to leave a message, and her heart twisted when she could hear Hunter's voice in the background of the message growling something at her.  She hesitated a brief moment, considering erasing the message and re-recording a new one, but changed her mind at the last minute, instead choosing to listen to the messages.  There were four this time.

Karen was the first.  "Hey, girl.  It's me.  It's, uhm…ten o'clock on Friday, and I've not heard from you yet to let me know you got to Audrey's okay.  It's not nice to make the blonde worry.  Gimmie a call, girl.  'Kay?"

"Yeah…soon."  Nan erased it, and thumbed to the next one.

This was her mother.  "Hey, baby girl.  It's just your Momma.  I tried you at home, and missed you.  I didn't think you were going to Canada until Saturday…so, when am I getting Dixie?  Call me, honey.  Love you!"

"Next call I make, Momma.  I swear."  Nan murmured softly, moving on to the next message.

Edge's voice came clear over the phone, from only a half-hour ago.  "Nan, it's Edge.  Where are you?  And don't hand me that crap about Audrey being sick.  I called her.  She's fine.  So where the hell did you run to, honey?  And what did he do to make you run in the first place?  Call me."

"I can't," she whispered softly, erasing the message and proceeding to the next.  Her stomach dropped into her feet with the voice that came through last.

It was Hunter.  "Hey.  It's ah, eleven forty-five, and uh, I don’t…I uh…ah hell, Nan.  I'm not coming home on Monday.  Vince wants me to do some promos for Vengeance and Summer Slam and I'm going to Stamford to do them.  So, truth be told, I don't know when I'm coming home.  I, uh, I'll…I'll call you."

She didn't bother to erase the message, rather, she just closed the cover on the phone.  She lay back down on the bed and struggled to breathe.  Stamford.  Connecticut.  Vince.  The Tower.  He was going to Steph.  Game Over.

She had no idea how long she lay there staring up at the ceiling, but when her cell rang, it startled her into answering it before looking at the caller I.D.  She lucked out.

"Baby girl, why haven't you called your Momma back?  You out shoppin' again?"

"Daddy?"

Red's voice went from playful to serious instantaneously at his daughter's watery tone.  "What's wrong, Nanette?"

"I…uhm…I really don't…want to talk about it right now, Daddy, if that's okay?"

"Where are you?"

"I…can't tell you, Daddy."

"Just tell me where you are, puddin', and I'll come get you," her father cajoled.  "You've had a fight with Hunter, haven't you,baby girl?"

"Yes, sir."  Nan whispered.  "But I can't tell you where I am because I'm not going to ask you to lie to him when, make that if he calls you.  Besides…I don't think I'll be here much longer."

"Nanette, I try not to make demands of you, but you will tell me where you are once you get where you're going.  And I'll lie or not lie to whomever I choose.  Is that understood?"  Red's tone brooked no disagreement.

"Yes, sir," she whispered again, feeling very small, and wishing she could just crawl up into his lap and have him take away all of her worries and cares with a hug and a kiss like he used to.  But as much as her Daddy loved her, he couldn't fix this one for her.

"Love you, baby girl."

"Love you too, Daddy.  Bye."

"Bye, darlin'."

Nan hung up the phone, making sure to turn it off this time.  Reaching for the remote control, she flipped on the television.  The channel was on VH-1 and showing older videos.  She watched the program while mulling over her alternatives.  Never one to turn to her family when she was hurting, she went through a list of the friends she could go to in a time like this.  It wasn't that her family didn't love her.  It was more that they loved her too  much.  She knew if her older brothers, Robbie, and Brian found out what had gone down between Hunter and her, they'd go to wherever he was and kill him.  Not beat him up or try to…they'd literally kill him.  And then get arrested for doing it - or trying to, one.  More likely Brian than Robbie.  Brian was the one closest to her in age, and although he'd spent most of their younger years trying to kill her, he'd gotten weirdly protective over her in the past five years or so.  Almost to the point of being scary about it.  And he didn't like Hunter anyway.  So no, going to her family was out.

She couldn't go to Shawn due to his own convalescence right now.  And Edge and Karen, as well as Al, were all out because of obvious reasons.  Hunter would never believe her if she went to one of them.  Heather and Brandon had just had the new baby.  Audrey had just moved and she didn't have her new address.  That pretty much exhausted her options of who she could go to until she got her head about her.

When George Thorogood's video for 'Bad To the Bone' came on, all of her confusion and indecision over where she was going to go was solved.  Glancing at the clock, she picked up her cell and dialed.

After about seven rings, a very sleepy and gruff voice answered.  "'Lo?"

"Hey."

"whaa….who…"  The voice on the other line cleared his throat.  "Who is this?"

"It's Nan."

There was silence on the other end for a moment.  "Damn, Nee," he chuckled, using the nickname he'd christened her with since the moment he'd found out her initials spelled out N-E-E, several years before.  "Wake a fellow up, why don't you."

"You should be up already.  It's the 'crack of noon' like you usually say."

"Don't lecture me, Shug.  You know what a bear I am in the morning.  What's up?"

"I'm…ah…calling in that favor."

He laughed again.  "Which one?"

"The one where you said I had a room if I ever needed a place to crash for a few days."

Dead silence on his side of the line had her worried until he practically growled at her, "What the fuck did he do to you?"

"I don't want to get into that now.  Can I just…is it okay if I stay…"

"Yeah, yeah.  Sure.  You know that.  Where are you now?"

"Baltimore.  I'm gonna put my car in long term and catch the first flight.  I figure, I'll rent a car at the airport and drive the rest of the way.  I'll call you from the terminal and let you know when to expect me."

"Do you need directions to the house?"

"No.  I remember how to get there from the last time."

"Okay, Shug.  I'll be waiting."  His voice went soft and tender, bringing tears to her eyes.  But she swallowed them down, unwilling to cry now.  She knew she'd be doing way too much of it soon enough.

Nine grueling, exhausting hours later, Nan pulled her rental car into the driveway.  She was tired clean to the bone, and her hand was throbbing where she'd cut it before getting out of her own car at the Baltimore airport.  Immediately the porch light turned on and the front door opened.  Not even bothering with her bags, she got out of the gold colored Camry and walked towards him.  He stepped off the porch, those incredibly long legs striding purposefully towards her. 

Since she'd fled her home over twenty-four hours previous, she'd not shed one single tear.  But the minute he pulled her close to him and wrapped her up in his arms, she broke down.  The damn burst and she sobbed against his chest, winding her arms around his waist, releasing all of the pent up frustration and pain she'd been holding in since she and Hunter had fought.  Her friend just held her.  Rocking her gently from side to side, completely at ease with her emotions and tears, unlike most men would have been.

"It's okay, Shug," he whispered in the darkness of his front yard.  "I'm here.  And we're gonna figure this out.  I promise."

"He…hates…me, Deez!"  she hiccuped, continuing to cry.  "He wouldn't even let me explain!  And now he's not coming home - he's going …to…going to Stamford!  To Steph!"  Her crying increased at that declaration.

That rocked him.  He couldn't believe Hunter was going back to his ex-wife.  There had to be more going on than he had gotten so far.  But he'd have  to wait until Nan was a little calmer to get the whole story.

They stood in the warm air, him just offering comfort and her wetting his shirt and chest with her tears.  Tears were cathartic, so he didn't mind.  He'd shed more than his share in his life.  Besides, living with Hunter made her entitled to a few, in his opinion.  Yeah, they'd figure it out in the coming days.  And, if he did find out Hunt had gone back to the princess over his friend here, his face hardened and a grim look settled in his eyes.  Well, then, Hunter Hearst Helmsley would regret he'd ever even heard the name Kevin Nash. 

~<>~ 

July 5, 2004  9:48 p.m.
Monday Night RAW - Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

"And I want you to tell the rest of Evolution - and Hunter, I want you to listen up real close - you're all goin' down!  You won't know when.  You won't know where.  But one by one, you're all gonna fall!  Somebody needs to take a stand and guess what Triple H?  That somebody is gonna be me!"  Edge squared off against Hunter in the middle of the ring, nose to nose, so angry that he was shaking.  He knew he wasn't supposed to bring personal stuff to the ring.  And he hadn't.  He'd just let the personal stuff fuel a fire that had been building for a long, long time.  And by God, he'd had it.  He lowered the mic and whispered, "I warned you, you fucker, what would happen if you ever hurt her.  And you didn't fucking listen, did you, asshole." 

Hunter wasn't impressed.  "That's great, Edge.  That's…that's really great.  But, ah…you see, I've heard that a million times from a million different guys.  Foley.  Austin.  Rock.  Michaels.  Benoit.  They've all said the same thing.  But yet, here I stand in this ring.  Evolution on top of the world, Edge.  Nothing changes.  Now, ah, what makes you think you're any different from them, huh?"

And Edge was on him.  Pounding the crap out of him, his anger and frustration giving him a strength and speed that Hunter hadn't counted on.  Knocking him backward, rolling across the mat, Edge's fists flying.  Christ, but the kid was everywhere! 

Finally Evolution ran down to ringside and Edge vaulted over the security barricade into the crowd, but not before slugging the piss out of Randy Orton.  Edge stood on the other side of the barricade, taunting them by counting off four fingers and yelling at them.

"One by one, boys!  You're all goin' down!  One by one!"

"You're a dead man, Edge!"  Hunter screamed from the ring, his fists clenched and face a mottled red.  "Mother-fucker!  You're mine!  You're a dead man!"

Ric stood protectively on the apron, looking around in obvious confusion as to what exactly had prompted that display.  So when the cameras went to commercial, and Edge stalked backstage still fuming, Ric was the first one, to get to him.  He grabbed the younger man by the arm and spun him around. 

"What the fuck was that all about!"  Ric demanded.

With that wild look still in his eyes, Edge pointed over Ric's shoulder and yelled.  "Ask your champ, Flair!  He knows damn well what that was about.  I warned you, you bastard!  I warned you what would happen.  You called down this one on yourself, and I'm gonna be the one to make sure you pay!  You won't know when or where, but I'll get you, you son of a bitch!  Call home, you fucker!  And you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!  Get off me!"  Edge jerked his arm out of Ric's grasp and stalked away. 

Ric turned back to Hunter with a puzzled look.  "Champ, what the hell is going on around here?!  Has everyone lost their fuckin' minds?"

"Evidently."  Hunter snarled, watching the lanky blonde walk away.  "Come on.  I gotta go talk to Eugene."

He couldn't ignore Edge's words rolling around in his brain.  But Hunter did call home.  Only he did it once RAW was over.  He knew she'd be watching it, because she never missed an episode.  And he always called her once it was over, if she weren't with him.  He was still mad.  He was still hurt.  And he still felt like she'd lied and betrayed him.  He'd even been glad when he'd gotten her voice-mail on Friday.  But he couldn't shake Edge's insistence that he call home.

Picking up the phone, he dialed the number to his house.  She always answered.  Even when he'd call her in the middle of the night sometimes.  But there wasn't an answer.

Nan wasn't at home.

Fighting a sudden cold feeling in his stomach, he tried her cell.  Hey, this is Nan.  Sorry you missed me, but leave a message and I'll call you back.  She laughed, and spoke again.  Hunter, quit it!  I'm trying to record the message on this thi…beep.  "Hey.  Ah, Edge…said I should call.  Call me."

Hanging up the phone, he debated for a minute, looked at his watch, then decided what the hell, and picked up the phone, placing another call.  It only rang once before it was answered by a gruff voice.  "Hello."

"Mr. Elliott.  It's Hunter."

"Took you long enough."

"I'm sorry, sir?"  Hunter asked, confused.

"You damn right you should be sorry, boy.  You waited almost four days to place this call?  You damn well should be sorry."

"Mr. Elliott," Hunter sighed, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy.  "May I speak to Nan, please?"

"No."

"Sir…."

"I said no, boy, because she ain't here."

Hunter frowned, that ball of ice in his stomach growing bigger.  "What do you mean she's not there?"

"She…isn't…here.  How much clearer do you want it?!  And let me tell you something boy, even if I knew where she was, I'd do to my grave before I'd tell you!"

Hunter put a hand to his face, now seriously concerned.  "You don't know where she is."

"No!  I don't know what you've done to my little girl, but whatever it is, now she's disobeying a direct order from her Daddy!  I've talked to her twice and she won't tell me where she is.  Fobbin' off some such nonsense as trying to keep Robbie and Brian from coming up there and gutting you alive.  Now I don't know how you're gonna fix this, but you'd damn well better do it!"  He slammed the phone down.

Hunter stared at the phone before placing the receiver gently down in the cradle, then stared out into space, only one thought echoing through his brain.

Nan was gone.   

<End>

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