'Bollocks! It's bloody cold out here!'

Oz blew into his cupped hands in an attempt to warm them, sending a cloud of steam jetting into the chilly late night Albuquerque air.

Mayhem merely snorted as he lifted his heavy duffel bag into the trunk of the rented Dodge Charger. After placing Oz's garment bag on top of the trunk's contents carefully, he slammed it shut. If the larger man was affected by the cold, he didn't mention it.

'You know, you could have waited in the car instead of standing out here in the cold bitching. You would think 'the brains of the operation' could have figured that out on his own,' Mayhem quipped as he opened the passenger side door.

This time it was Oz's turn to snort. He slid into the driver's seat and ran his hand slowly across the steering wheel, admiring the modern muscle car's interior. Next to him, Mayhem was reclining the seat, already obvious in his attempt to make a bed out of it. He looked over at Oz and watched him a moment in silence. Oz had leaned forward and was running his hand along the dash softly, his mind obviously somewhere else. It reminded Mayhem of someone caressing a lover, or comforting the sick.

Mayhem reached into the back seat and pulled a Gatorade from his travel bag, followed by a large prescription pill bottle. He popped the lid off the amber bottle an dumped several pills into his mouth. With a grimace, he chewed the pills before washing them down with the red sports drink.

'Hey Oz...you gonna drive it, or fuck it?'

Oz looked over to find Mayhem grinning at him. Oz remained silent and turned the key in the ignition. The Charger's engine came to life, filling the car with it's rumbling growl.

'You do know the right side of the road to drive on, don't you? You're not going to run us into traffic and kill us?' Mayhem followed this up by taking another mouthful of pills, which he also chewed and swallowed with more Gatorade.

Oz slammed the car into gear, accelerating hard. The tires on the sleek black car squealed on the parking lot asphalt and Mayhem was flattened back into his seat, struggling to remain upright.

'Yes, I know what side of the bloody road to drive on,' Oz shot back. 'But since nobody in this country does, I learned to drive on the wrong side.'

Mayhem chuckled, stretching out on the reclined seat and making himself comfortable the best his large frame would allow. He capped the pill bottle and tossed it into the console in the center of the car. After whipping the car onto the road, Oz reached over an picked the bottle of pills up, examining it in the fading lights of the parking lot behind them.

'Oxycodone hydrochloride. You might want to slow down on these unless you want your next tag team partner to be Courtney Love.'

Mayhem didn't open his eyes when he responded. 'Hey Oz, when we agreed to do this, who was supposed to be the muscles?'

Oz smirked into the dark, 'I do believe you were.'

'Well the muscles are sore, and they fucking want painkillers. So to put it in terms you will understand, sod off, old bean.'

Oz continued to drive in silence for several minutes before asking, 'You do have a prescription for these things, don't you?'

Mayhem's only reply was a soft snort, and then he began snoring.

Oz sighed. It was going to be a long drive.

Denny's, Flagstaff, Arizona - The Next Morning

Oz watched in amazement as Mayhem shoveled a large fork full of eggs into his mouth, clearing his plate. With a loud clank he sat the plate on top of the pile of four other plates he had previously emptied.

As if the sound was a gong that summoned her, the waitress was suddenly standing at the table. She was a pretty thing, young and thin, with hair several differing shades of color, none of which occurred naturally. Her name tag read 'XEE' in bold black Sharpie, but she had assured them both it was pronounced 'Krissy.'

She looked in disbelief at the pile of empty plates, one eyebrow raised. 'Can I like, get you anything else?'

Mayhem stifled a belch and turned toward her. 'What do you have for dessert?'

'Uhhh, let's see, we've got a caramel apple crisp, a hot fudge brownie with ice cream, cheesecake with cherry topping...'

'Yes,' Mayhem said, smiling at her.

Xee paused, tilting her head like a dog who has heard a high pitched sound. 'Yes?'

'Yes, as in 'Yes, I'll take those.' The apple thing, the brownie ice cream thing, and let's make it two slices of cheesecake with cherry topping.'

Xee turned to Oz as she scribbled Mayhem's order on the order pad. 'Can I get you anything, sir?'

'Just a refill on my coffee, young lady. And perhaps an application for the Denny's credit card so I will be able to pay for our morning's meal,' Oz grinned.

Mayhem leaned to one side as Xee walked away, affording a better view of her behind as it swayed away from them. Oz turned to see what held Mayhem's attention, and looked back at the large man with a wry grin.

'I do believe that's the first normal heterosexual response I've seen out of you, Vin...Mayhem. I was starting to worry you had forgotten one step of the 'Eat, Fuck, Kill' equation.'

Mayhem looked surprised a moment, and then chuckled dismissively, 'I'd break her in two.' He paused, taking a sip of his coffee. 'You really have a problem with that, don't you?'

Oz looked confused, his forehead wrinkling. 'With your sexual habits? I wouldn't so much say-'

'No, no, calling me Mayhem. You practically stutter every time you have to say it. So I tell you what, you can call me Vin. Or Vincent. Just not Vinnie. Deal?'

'I think I can manage that, Vincent.'

The two men sat in silence, Mayhem finishing his coffee and Oz staring out the window. Soon, Xee returned with Mayhem's four dessert plates on a platter. She filled up their coffee and as she was going to leave, she paused. 'So, you guys look familiar. Are you, like, famous or something?'

Mayhem had just stuffed a spoonful of chocolate brownie in his mouth, so Oz answered her. 'Are you an aficionado of wrestling, my dear?'

'I don't get to watch it as much as I used to as a kid. Hey, do you guys know Jonathan Rhine? He's hot.'

Mayhem scowled slightly and stuffed more brownie into his mouth. 'Nope.'

'Ah, geeze, that's too bad. I'm just going to leave the bill here, and you can pay up front when you're ready to go, okay?

Mayhem waved the girl off with his spoon, and then pointed it at Oz. 'Speaking of wrestling, I've been meaning to ask you....Dollah Bill? Seriously, what the fuck?'

'I'm not sure I follow you.' Oz sipped his coffee, watching his wrestler carefully, sensing how quickly Mayhem's mood had soured.

'Black guy, lotsa bling bling, tried smashing my head in with a steel can?'

Oz sighed, 'I'm aware who you're speaking of, I'm just not certain I understand your ire. It's not like I invited him to New Mexico with the express purpose of letting him assault you.'

'So, why DID you invite him? Me, Wombat, En Fuego, Misfit, Cash...are you planning on staging some sort of SWWA takeover of FUSE? Is that your gig? Cause you could probably find a better known and recently active federation to steal from, you know.' Mayhem switched from the brownie/ice cream concoction to one of the plates of cheesecake as he waited for Oz to enlighten him.

'Firstly,' Oz began, 'managing you is not my only position with FUSE. When I approached Mr. Duluth, I convinced him that I should act as a talent scout for him, to bring some new blood into the federation. Yours was one of six contracts he gave me, to sign as I saw fit. I made a call to Drusilla, since she had been more active in the business recently, and she put me in touch with quite a few of the individuals who have been floating about since the demise of the SWWA.'

Mayhem turned his attentions to the caramel apple crisp before it got any colder. 'So just what is you and Drusilla's deal, anyway? Are the two of you....you know?' Mayhem waggled his eyebrows suggestively, emphasizing exactly what he was asking.

'Goodness no! While the esteemed Miss Crawford is very intelligent and an absolute delight to converse with, she is young enough to practically be my daughter!'

Mayhem nodded. 'So you're telling me you wouldn't hit that?'

'That is most certainly not what I am telling you,' Oz said with a slight eyebrow waggle of his own. 'Now, may I continue to elucidate my reasons for testing the waters with other talent, since that is what you ask me?'

Mayhem consented with another nod.

'Do you know what a stable is?' Oz ask as he looked at the lengthy bill Xee had left behind. 'And I'm not talking about a place to put horses, although the similarity is ironic.'

'Sure,' Mayhem responded. 'A group of wrestlers, like The Affliction or The Highwaymen, right?'

'Exactly. There is strength in numbers, Vincent, and if you think the objects of our ire won't surround themselves with an entire herd, I'd say you had been hit in the head one too many times with a trash receptacle. Are we about ready to get out of here?'

Mayhem popped the last half-slice of cheesecake into his mouth and stood. 'I gotta piss,' he mouthed around the mouthful of dessert.

The woman at the register who was named Donna (if you believed her name tag) didn't seem sincere when she ask 'Was everything alright today?'

'Everything was splendiferous, m'lady. Can you break a hundred?' Oz produced the bill from his wallet with a flourish, looking expectantly at the cashier.

After recieving his change, Oz caught Xee's attention, waving her over. He placed the entirety of the change in her hand. 'This is for you, for putting up with my companion's prodigious appetites. Also, we'll be in Phoenix the Saturday of Super Bowl, and if you'd like, I'll have a pair of tickets waiting for you at will call. It it going to be a FUSE on ESPN show, so it should be rather enjoyable. I'll even see if I can get you backstage and maybe get you Jonny Rhine's autograph.'

It was hard to tell what excited Xee more, the sizable tip she had just received, or the chance to meet Jonathan Rhine. 'Wow, that'd fucking rock! Thanks!' Behind her, Donna cleared her throat disapprovingly. 'I mean 'Gee, that'd be swell!'' she said, rolling her eyes.

Mayhem held the door for Oz as they stepped into the cold Flagstaff morning. 'What was that about?'

'Even if I can't get her back to see our champion, that will be two more voices cheering for you. You can thank me by driving the rest of the way, I'm exhausted.' Oz tossed the Charger's keys to Mayhem.

'You know how to drive, don't you?'