Vixen. That's what Kansas Marie has become as of late. The soft skinned, well mannered girlfriend of Jason Cruise has evolved into more than an asterisk in his life, more than a silly title or strong woman's face behind the man in the bronze mask. She has turned into the largest piece of the puzzle. For weeks her presence on-screen and off has grown, multiplied even. From a casual visit to a weekly regular at the request of Smitty T. Duluth her innocence has slowly been lost on all of us, including Jason.

'I don't get why it's even a secret.' Kansas Marie's voice is faint, it's uncertain.

Standing across from her is the enigma simply known as The Man in the Black Hat. The figure, as always, is cloaked in long black loins securing his identity from being known. He rarely moves, he speaks low and without emotion, and his presence along is bewildering to almost everyone. Everyone but her.

'The lurking, the deception, it's all a ridiculous game. Why don't you just tell him?' Her question reads more like a statement.

'This is how he wanted it to be. I gave him his chance to do things his way.' The figure says calmly.

'And he's done well, he's a champion. Isn't that what you wanted from him?'

'I want him to be the best.'

'So we're throwing in the towel already?' She says.

'No. The best does not include being embarrassed on National television or having your face fried like a Kentucky chicken. He is a loose cannon, he needs to be tamed. That was your job.'

Her eyes widen.

'Oh, and I suppose I'm doing a bad job?'

The figure nods.

'Yes.'

She begins to anger, moving closer towards the figure and positioning her face closer to his.

'So then what? Are you going to fire me?!' She laughs. 'Even if you do, I'm still under contract, there's nothing you can do.'

Quickly the figure's hand wraps around her wrist and pulls her even closer.

'Fire you? No. I would never fire my own flesh and blood.'

Marie's eyes begin to water from the strength in the figure's hand.

'But what I would do is simply make you disappear. Granted, I'd never hurt you.'

The figure flings her wrist away.

'But trust me when I say I can make your little game of being a sweet, angelic angel of a girlfriend go away.'

'You think anyone even cares about you anymore? Nobody around here even knows who you are!' She tries to pull and eventually the figure lets go, nearly sending Marie tumbling over.

'They will my sweet child. Soon, they will.'

* * * * *

Santa Monica, California.

'It's tough.'

Jason pauses as his masked face descends down towards his chest. 'Tough to stand here, be here, and talk about the hate I have for Raul... about the hate I have for Lane... about the hate I have for Clinton and his crew. It's tough because of what surrounds me right now and the people I love.'

Standing on the hill tops of Santa Monica is Jason Cruise. A mere mile behind him is the burning streets of Malibu, California. The last time these homes and businesses fell to fire it was because of rioting and gangs tearing apart their own city, their own homes. This time it was different. This time it was nature's hand dealing them the fate that nobody could have anticipated.

Above him are gray clouds of smoke, filling the once beautiful skyline over the waters of the Pacific. Ash has fallen over every home, automobile, rec center, and business within an eyes distance. Tonight as Jason stands there he takes it in, breathing heavily when a normal night would bring him relaxation and fresh air.

'Tomorrow I'm suppose to fly out to New York City and meet with Jonathan, Amy, and Cyrus. I'm suppose to sit down with them over lunch, share a few laughs and talk about this business that runs our lives. It's suppose to be another day, another conversation, another deep seeded plot about how we are going to run over the very people that have controlled the lives of wrestlers across the map. But now? Now I don't even know if I'm going to get on that plane.'

Jason takes a deep breathe, his hand cupping his mouth so he doesn't inhale most of the debris swirling in the strong Santa Ana winds.

'Everything I've worked for, everything we've put up with individually and as a team... everything I've known to exist for the past four months is an after thought to this.' He gestures to red horizon behind him. 'This controls me now, this controls my family.' Jason shakes his head in disbelief.

'Out there right now are hundreds and hundreds of fire fighters, men and women, working twenty-four hour shifts so that eventually people like me will have a house to go home too. But in the eyes of little children across the globe I'm supposed to be the hero, I'm supposed to be the one that puts an end to the likes of the Affliction and their stand against morality.'

Jason begins to walk atop the hillside, his eyes never really wondering far from straight forward.

'But these men and women, they're the heroes. They're saving lives, they're saving homes, they're saving identities and history that could be lost forever. All I'm doing is shutting up pretenders like Jacob McKail who shrugged his shoulders and figured if you can't beat em', well join em. Is that suppose to get me from day to day?'

'Will dropping that dumb fuck on his skull really make me rest easy at night?'

Jason shakes his head.

'Probably not. But what it will do, is for one night, maybe just one moment, help some poor kid out there who has nowhere to sleep, nowhere to call home, smile... Hell, it may even make him laugh after we're done with them. And that's what I do what I do.'

He runs his hand over the left cheek of the mask.

'These scars, these burns... they're nothing compared to what people go through day in and day out. One day, years from now, I'll look in the mirror and I'll remember the night El Diablo threw that damn fireball in my face, I'll have the everlasting memory there to remind me. But people out here in Southern California, some of them may never get back up on their feet. They may never find home again. Hell, even the marines have been kicked out of their bunks and trust me, they ain't gonna be complaining the day they get to sleep there again.'

'So Affliction... boys... you better ready yourselves for this war that you started the day you stepped foot into the ring and spit down on it. You want to deface FUSE?'

'You want to deface me?'

'You better be ready to die for your sins because even God himself isn't going to show you mercy. And if he won't?'

He lets the thought linger for a moment.

'Then neither will fucking I.'

* * * * *

St. Paul, Minnesota.

A phone rings.

And rings.

Until an answering machine picks up.

'Thank you for taking the time to get a hold of me. Obviously, I'm not here, otherwise I'd probably be speaking with you already. If you'd like for me to get back to you leave your info. If this is about missed public appearances then I apologize, I'm sorry you fucking begged and begged for me to show up and then decided you wanted to pay me with food stamps and jelly beans. If this is my mother... I'm sorry you had to hear that. If this is my dad dad please tell mom to stop fucking calling me everyday.'

The phone beeps.

'It's me, Marie. We need to talk.'